Urban green space dimensions, visit behavior, and mental well-being: A comparative study of Singapore and Hong Kong

This study examines how multiple dimensions of urban green space (UGS)—accessibility, greenness, and physical features—shape visits and mental well-being, and how these relationships shift during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using city-wide indicators and individual-level survey data from Singapore and Hong Kong, two high-density cities with contrasting UGS planning models, we link objective contextual patterns to satisfaction with UGS, visit behavior, and pandemic-period changes in mental well-being. We find that residents respond more strongly to UGS dimensions that are relatively scarce in their local context, and that the salience of accessibility increases during the pandemic, especially in Singapore. In Singapore, where spatial access to UGS is more constrained, satisfaction with accessibility is the dominant predictor of visit frequency and duration, and its association with time spent in UGS becomes markedly stronger during COVID-19, whereas in Hong Kong, characterized by smaller and more fragmented parks, satisfaction with greenness plays a greater role overall. Using structural equation modeling, we estimate direct and indirect pathways from satisfaction with UGS attributes to pandemic-period changes in mental well-being. In Singapore, well-being improvements are primarily mediated by increased visits, indicating that better accessibility sustained green space use that, in turn, supported mental well-being. In Hong Kong, indirect effects are weaker, suggesting that psychological benefits may arise even without behavioral change, potentially through visual or symbolic cues associated with perceived accessibility. These findings advance a context-sensitive understanding of green space utility and underscore the need for multidimensional, behaviorally informed UGS planning in dense urban environments. • Examines how UGS access, greenness and features affect visits and mental well-being • Compares UGS–well-being mechanisms between Singapore and Hong Kong • Finds stronger responses to scarce traits: access in Singapore under COVID, greenness in Hong Kong • During COVID, well-being gains are mediated by visits in Singapore and by perceptions in Hong Kong. • Recommends context-sensitive planning to align UGS patterns with user experience