Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
9-2026
Abstract
Urban greenery may be abundant in transit-oriented cities, yet green presence does not necessarily become perceptually available to people moving through it. This paper distinguishes green supply, perceived greenery, and green experience, and examines the step at which greenery enters awareness during travel. The study combined 21 days of ecological momentary assessment from 68 participants in Singapore, yielding 6,794 in-trip moments, and 25 route-reconstruction interviews. A satellite normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) provided a top-down baseline of green supply, and a street-level green view index (GVI) from Google Street View (GSV), matched to 5,824 moments, provided a co-located eye-level baseline. A generalized additive mixed model showed a modest but stable association between objective greenness and perceived greenery, carried mainly by within-person variation, alongside substantial between-person differences and a perception–supply gap that agreed in direction across both baselines. The interviews developed an account of capture, release, and conversion: mobility could hold attention, loosen enough for surroundings to become noticeable, or allow greenery to register as comfort, relief, or enjoyment. The study identifies perceptual availability as the condition through which planned greenery becomes, or fails to become, momentary perception and reported green experience during travel.
Keywords
Ecological momentary assessment, Urban green space, Environmental perception, Travel experience, Mixed methods
Discipline
Asian Studies | Environmental Sciences | Urban Studies and Planning
Research Areas
Integrative Research Areas
Areas of Excellence
Growth in Asia
Publication
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
Volume
126
First Page
1
Last Page
12
ISSN
1618-8667
Identifier
10.1016/j.ufug.2026.129686
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
ZENG, Ziheng; ROSENTHAL, Sonny; and WOODS, Orlando.
From green presence to perceived greenery: Everyday mobility and perceptual availability in Singapore. (2026). Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 126, 1-12.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cis_research/657
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2026.129686
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons