Cardiff has been ranked one of the greenest capitals in Europe. A study by straw specialists Drinking Straw analysed the number of parks, gardens, wildlife areas, forests, playgrounds and bodies of water compared to the size of European capital cities to see which have the most green spaces per 100,000 people.
The Welsh capital is ranked fourth with 37 green spaces, made up of 18 parks, three gardens, five wildlife areas, three playgrounds, three forests and three bodies of water. When comparing against its population it has 5.54 parks per 100,000 people. On nature and wildlife areas Cardiff has the highest percentage per 100,000 head of population the top ten at 1.54. It also scores highly on bodies of water - like the River Taff - also at 1.54.
Paris has been ranked the greenest capital with 325 green spaces made up of 171 parks, 127 gardens, one wildlife area, 16 playgrounds and ten bodies of water. This gives it 7.62 parks and 5.66 gardens per 100,000 people
Luxembourg City is ranked second with 13 green spaces. Despite its smaller population, it has 8 parks, one garden and four playgrounds. There were 8.51 parks per 100,000 people.
Ireland’s capital of Dublin takes is ranked third with 66 green spaces comprised of 34 parks, 15 gardens, seven nature and wildlife areas, three playgrounds, one forest and six bodies of water. The study found it to have 6.47 parks and 2.86 gardens per 100,000 people when population was accounted for.
With a total of 61 green spaces, Portugal’s capital Lisbon rounds out the top five. The 61 green spaces comprise of 25 parks, 26 gardens, one wildlife area, seven playgrounds and two forests. There are 4.59 parks and 4.77 gardens per 100,000 people in the city.
London is ranked 24th of all the capitals While having the most green spaces with 356, when taking into account the city’s population it falls out of the top ten. Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, with a total of 31 green spaces, is ranked 17th when adjusting for population.
City |
Population |
Parks per 100k people |
Gardens per 100k people |
Nature/wildlife areas per 100k people |
Playgrounds per 100k people |
Forests per 100k people |
Bodies of water per 100k people |
|
1 |
Paris |
2,244,000 |
7.62 |
5.66 |
0.04 |
0.71 |
0.00 |
0.45 |
2 |
Luxembourg City |
94,034 |
8.51 |
1.06 |
0.00 |
4.25 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
3 |
Dublin |
525,383 |
6.47 |
2.86 |
1.33 |
0.57 |
0.19 |
1.14 |
4 |
Cardiff |
324,800 |
5.54 |
0.92 |
1.54 |
0.92 |
0.92 |
1.54 |
5 |
Lisbon |
544,851 |
4.59 |
4.77 |
0.18 |
1.28 |
0.37 |
0.00 |
6 |
Bratislava |
462,603 |
2.81 |
1.73 |
0.22 |
3.89 |
0.22 |
1.08 |
7 |
Helsinki |
564,474 |
6.02 |
1.42 |
0.89 |
0.71 |
0.53 |
0.35 |
8 |
Reykjavik |
131,136 |
3.05 |
2.29 |
0.76 |
0.76 |
0.76 |
2.29 |
9 |
Barcelona |
1,602,386 |
5.12 |
2.81 |
0.00 |
0.81 |
0.00 |
0.06 |
10 |
Belfast |
343,542 |
4.37 |
1.46 |
0.87 |
0.58 |
0.29 |
0.58 |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Drinking Straw said: “While it might be the case that Europe’s most populated capitals have the most infrastructure, this data shows that those at the top of the list also manage to combine that with a strong balance of people to green spaces as well. In the case of cities like Luxembourg and Paris, there are many green spaces compared to the number of people, meaning you won’t be far from a park or garden in most areas.”
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