Equity Evaluation of Street-Level Greenery Based on Green View Index from Street View Images: A Case Study of Hangzhou, China

Equity in urban greenery is essential to improving residents’ well-being and contributing to environmental justice. Research on equity in street-scale urban greenery remains limited, but this study addresses it by employing the green view index (GVI), a widely recognized indicator for assessing green space quality from a pedestrian perspective, using semantic segmentation methods and Baidu Street View (BSV) images to quantify street-level greenery. Through spatial clustering and hot spot analysis, the visibility and spatial distribution of street greenery in Hangzhou’s central urban area were examined. Furthermore, the Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, and location entropy were applied to evaluate disparities in green visibility across urban spaces. The results show that the average GVI at the sample point level, road level, and district level in the study area are 0.167, 0.142, and 0.177, respectively. Meanwhile, the spatial heterogeneity of the GVI is highly pronounced, with distinct clustering characteristics. The Gini coefficient of street greenery visibility is 0.384, indicating a moderate level of inequality in the distribution of greenery resources. Notably, a higher GVI does not necessarily correspond to better internal greenery equity, highlighting disparities in the distribution of urban greenery. This study offers a more precise and refined quantification of urban greenery equity, providing critical insights for addressing spatial disparities and informing urban planning strategies aimed at promoting equitable green infrastructure.