The influence of environmental attitudes on urban afforestation in the most preserved state of the Brazilian Amazon

Understanding how people perceive and interact with nature is essential to address the growing ecological challenges in rapidly urbanizing regions. In tropical cities, where biodiversity and urban infrastructure often coexist in tension, the role of human behavior in shaping urban green spaces remains understudied. Here we examine how environmental attitudes and sociodemographic factors influence urban tree distribution in Macapá, a capital city located in the Brazilian Amazon. Using a structured survey applied to 432 residents across 23 neighborhoods, we combined exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify two latent dimensions of environmental attitudes: a pro-ecological factor supporting the value of urban trees, and an anti-anthropocentric factor rejecting human supremacy over nature. Although attitudes were largely positive, sidewalk tree presence was more likely in front of homes of older residents, individuals born outside the region, and those with more neutral attitudes, that is, closer to the midpoint between ecological and anthropocentric views. Education, income, and birthplace influenced attitudes, but these did not always translate into practical engagement with urban greening. This suggests that structural barriers such as regulatory limitations, social inequality, and conflicting perceptions about tree maintenance can constrain the effect of pro-environmental attitudes on behavior. Our results reveal a complex interplay between social values and ecological outcomes in the Global South, where informal urban growth and limited infrastructure intersect with cultural perceptions of nature. By integrating psychometric and ecological data, this study offers a novel contribution to understanding human–nature relationships in understudied tropical contexts, highlighting the need for inclusive urban forestry policies that bridge environmental awareness and structural opportunity.