Access to green space in European cities

More than half the world’s population live in cities and rapid urbanisation is expected to continue. A recent study has examined, for the first time, the extent of green space, such as parks, in European cities and how this relates to city area and population size. It suggests that improved planning of green space is needed in future urban developments.

While there are plenty of benefits to compacting urban populations, such as economy of scale and ease of transport and communication, there are concerns that opportunities to experience nature are declining. Access to green space within cities has been found to benefit many aspects of health and wellbeing, enabling local residents to cope better with the stresses of living in large urban areas. To predict the consequences of rapid urbanisation for human wellbeing requires information on how green space provision will change as cities grow. One way to help achieve this is to study green space provision across a range of present-day cities.

The researchers characterised urban land cover across 31 European countries, using data from the European Environment Agency. This included land areas greater than 25 hectares with more than 100 000 inhabitants. Overall, 386 cities in Europe were identified for the study. 170.6 million people, or 34 percent of Europe’s population, lived in these cities in 2001. The percentage of green space varies, from 1.9 percent in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, to 46 per cent in Ferrol, Spain, though the study’s authors emphasize that green space coverage can be calculated in a variety of ways. Cities in northern Europe tend to have greater proportions of green space compared with cities in the south. However, around 45 million people living in Europe still have limited access to green areas in cities with between just 2 and 13 per cent green space.

• Read more on the Science for Environment Policy website of the European Commission