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Percentage of Parks Preferred

  • 0-10%

    Votes: 7 7.3%
  • 11-20%

    Votes: 10 10.4%
  • 21-30%

    Votes: 23 24.0%
  • 31-40%

    Votes: 21 21.9%
  • 41-50%

    Votes: 5 5.2%
  • 50% or higher

    Votes: 30 31.3%

Cities with the most % of public green space (parks and gardens)

136K views 76 replies 49 participants last post by  Eric Offereins 
#1 · (Edited)
Cities with the most % of public green space (parks and gardens)

POST OTHER CITY PERCENTAGES ON THIS THREAD to determine the greenest city in the world. Tell us about green spaces in cities you've lived in/visited/etc. How much green space is necessary and what should or are cities doing to in order to provide access to green spaces to those of us who really need it in the ever congested city.

*What is Considered Green Space?*

City proper is used as metropolitan boundaries are harder to determine. Will make a note if the data is for metropolitan area. Green spaces that are planned are used in the statistics. S For the most part the higher percentage of green space the most accessible to more people, however Hong Kong green spaces are usually not with many being in hills. Tree lined streets don't count as green spaces. Instead open green areas park, gardens, and squares? I'm not sure if squares are counted? Tree lined streets percent of tree canopy is not counted. This data is for open spaces.

Vienna 51%
Singapore 47%
Sydney 46%
Hong Kong 40% 70% is the total green space 40% is protected
Rio De Janeiro 40%
London 38.40% Almost 40%!
Stockholm 30%
Johannesburg-Gauteng 24%
New York City 19.7 % or 14% Park Score/World Culture Report
San Francisco 17.9%
Portland OR 16.3%
Los Angeles 16.2%
Munich 16%
Berlin 14.40%
Jakarta 10.4%
Paris 9.40%
Amsterdam 9.09%
Chicago 8.5%
Buenos Aires 5%
Tokyo 3.44%
Rome 3%
Shanghai 2.60%
Mumbai 2.50%
Istanbul 1.5%


London is the greenest city of its size.

Vienna which is frequently ranked as the most livable city has a whopping 120 square metres of green space for every resident of Vienna. Over 51% green space and steadily increasing according to Vienna Facts and Figures! Cities should strive to be as green as London, Sydney, Singapore, and Vienna. Density doesn't have to equal lack of green space.

Ahh green cities where people breathe. Paris may be the most beautiful, New York City the tallest, but not the greenest :rock: hell yeah. Personally closer to 50% or more is ideal as the higher the percentage the higher the chance of good access throughout the area for all residents to enjoy. Parks are perhaps what I enjoy most about a city and I'll usually explore the parks and gardens in the cities I visit. It comes to no surprise as some of the worlds most livable cities have a higher percentage of green space; Vienna, Sydney, Stockholm etc, compared to the rest.





sources World Culture Report
ParkScore American cities
interhostel and wikipedia for Stockholm
Tinbergen Institute for Amsterdam percentage
wieninternational.at Vienna facts and figures
Insight Guides facts and figures Rome
Greenstructures Munich Data
Cityparks Rio data
Lack of space threatens green space in Hong Kong.
Cityparks Buenos Aires



Other interesting statistics

Park land per person US
Green Spaces Boost Wellbeing






Your own sources welcome!
Will occasionally update if able to with new city percentages.






How much green space does your city have?

 
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#32 · (Edited)
^^ KL and SIngapore is probably ASEAN's greenest city, if not Asia..

Anyway here are information about Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tanggerang, Bekasi) which are Jakarta's metropolitan areas. Total greenspace of the area are unknown but each city do have greenspaces information.

Jakarta - 10.4%

Bogor - 20% since it have a large botanic garden


Depok - 10% (sorry no aerial view)


Tangerang - 20%


Bekasi - 16%


Sources of images are linked with the images.
 
#33 ·
Bangkok is also pretty interesting, though most of the city hardly have greenspaces (apart from the palace and lumphini), it have a large green space preserved not so far from the city center.

 
#37 ·
Cities with the most % of public green space (parks and gardens)

*What is Considered Green Space?*

City proper is used as metropolitan boundaries are harder to determine. Will make a note if the data is for metropolitan area. Green spaces that are planned are used in the statistics. S For the most part the higher percentage of green space the most accessible to more people, however Hong Kong green spaces are usually not with many being in hills. Tree lined streets don't count as green spaces. Instead open green areas park, gardens, and squares? I'm not sure if squares are counted? Tree lined streets percent of tree canopy is not counted. This data is for open spaces.

Vienna 51%
Singapore 47%
Sydney 46%
Hong Kong 40% 70% is the total green space 40% is protected
Rio De Janeiro 40%
London 38.40% Almost 40%!
Stockholm 30%
Johannesburg-Gauteng 24%
New York City 19.7 % or 14% Park Score/World Culture Report
San Francisco 17.9%
Portland OR 16.3%
Los Angeles 16.2%
Munich 16%
Berlin 14.40%
Jakarta 10.4%
Paris 9.40%
Amsterdam 9.09%
Chicago 8.5%
Buenos Aires 5%
Tokyo 3.44%
Rome 3%
Shanghai 2.60%
Mumbai 2.50%
Istanbul 1.5%
On my opinion, tree lined streets should be counted as green spaces, because they are the green places that everybody experiences every day.

Parks are only enjoyed by going to the park. But the feel of the city is mainly made by walking any random street.

For example, London looks on numbers like having almost half of his space dedicated to green spaces, but walking the city feels like a desert of concrete and brick.
 
#57 ·
We concentrate most of our parks towards where people live rather than work. That is why the centre has a few big parks but not many smaller ones. If you travel up through Camden towards Hampstead you will think you are more in villiages than a city. That is because they were, Hampstead, Highgate etc... and very beautiful. I have travelled many parts of the world but always love coming home to London as it does feel a bit more relaxing if the sun is shining. Which unfortunately it doesn't do that often.
 
#39 ·
Austin, TX has 13.4% park space according to ParkScore: http://parkscore.tpl.org/city.php?city=Austin

That was surprising to me. Having grown up here I was always under the impression that Austin was pretty green overall. We have tons of trees, but I guess not as much is considered actual park space.





both photos by Debra Lineberger


James Granberry via http://fineartamerica.com/featured/lady-bird-lake-austin-texas-james-granberry.html


http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/07/0715_top_cities/6.htm

 
#42 ·
certainly looks like a lot more than 13%
Agreed. I'm pretty sure it's probably private land. Austin does have strict tree ordinances. It's pretty tough to cut a nice sized tree down around here without incurring fines. And developers are encouraged to move heritage trees rather than cut them down.

The Waller Creek Tunnel project will add about 30 acres of park space once it's complete, but that is just a drop in the bucket for a city of 190,000+ acres.
 
#47 ·
Aerial Views of Jakarta
Showing this world's 2nd largest megacity *still needs more green open spaces*
Those are the reality of Jakarta, a large urban mess.
 
#46 ·
I can't agree with this notion that tree lined streets are more important than urban parks.

Trees in streets might look good (though not always - they can make some streets seem dark and depressing). They might be a relief from walls of concrete. But there isn't, essentially, a lot that you can do with them - short of of allowing your dog to lift his leg against them.

In big, densely populated cities, urban parks are far more important than trees in streets. Parks serve a real purpose. They provide a refuge; a place of play; a place of relaxation; a place for stressed citizens to let their hair down; a much needed resource to get back in touch with nature.

With respect to London in particular, there are actually plenty of trees in the streets, even if not in every area. But these trees are often far from welcome. Because of the clay subsoil upon which London stands and because of the preponderance of Victorian and Edwardian terraces with shallow foundations, trees are frequently the cause of subsidence (I should know - it happened to me as I was on the point of selling my house and buying a new one. Both deals consequently fell through, costing me many thousands of pounds in wasted conveyancing fees!). And trees in streets, unlike trees in parks, must necessarily be planted very close to buildings. Roads, pavements and subsurface utilities also suffer greatly from the damage caused by the root systems of trees in streets.
 
#48 · (Edited)
#52 ·
Geographically speaking the Mojave Desert is not very green but in Clark County we have one of the largest forests in the United States. The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests covering around 6 million acres or around 25,000 square kilometers which is just a short drive away from suburbia. The 190,000 acre Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area which is pretty much in our backyard is also lush and green.:cheers:
 
#55 ·
The data is misleading. For instance, in Paris they add wide-gravel roads in the middle of open fields and fence-off grass areas which totally ruins the point of a green space. Then they have gravel areas with potted plants and hedges. And the numerous gravel and paved courtyards with a few plants here and there, and more fenced-off trees. These are French-style parks and gardens, which are very artificial and focus on aesthetics not environmental benefits.
 
#56 ·
Toronto definatly lacks in parks and open spaces. Most of the downtown parks are few and far between and the big parks would be considered small in other cities. Except Toronto Islands, which are amazing, the city needs to do something about public space.
 
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