Enhancing citizens’ environmental awareness is a core element of sustainable urban governance and an effective response to the environmental challenges. This study aimed to develop a cognitive roadmap for assessing the pattern of self-reported environmental awareness among Tehran's residents and identifying the dispersion patterns of their knowledge based on official indicators of Tehran Municipality. The research was applied in nature and conducted through a survey. Data were collected via a researcher-designed questionnaire from 1,349 residents across Tehran’s five main zones (north, south, east, west, and center) and analyzed using 18 environmental indicators, including energy consumption, waste management, urban pollution, public health, natural hazards, and institutional awareness. Findings showed that citizens’ environmental awareness falls into three distinct levels. The tangible indicators—such as water and energy consumption, waste disposal and air pollution—had the highest mean scores and lowest standard deviations, indicating a relative convergence of responses within the society. In contrast, institutional and structural indicators—such as familiarity with educational programs and development projects—had the lowest means and highest dispersion, indicating higher dispersion and relatively lower self-reported awareness in these areas. The descriptive pattern of findings indicated that indicators related to everyday and experienced issues had higher mean self-reported awareness scores. So, the educational strategies should be multi-tiered: cultural reinforcement for high-awareness indicators, community-based learning for medium-awareness ones, and communication empowerment for low-awareness indicators. Effective educational policymaking requires attention to both the level and distribution of knowledge, while the cognitive roadmap offers a scientific basis for optimizing resources and strengthening social capital.