Urban Green Spaces continue to decline across the world

A negative trend continues

A total loss of 158 million m² of green space is recorded across the cities studied, primarily due to human activities like construction and urban expansion. On the other hand, a total of 95 million m² of new green space were added or improved. Most of this increase is related to expanded areas of grass cover, likely due to weather events and other passive factors, rather than active greening efforts.

Europe - the greenest region in the world

The analyzed cities range from 3000 inhabitants in the Dutch city of Renswoude to 30 million in Shanghai, China. The average urban green space is 43%, varying from 25% in South & West Asia to 47% in Europe. For instance, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has only 1% green coverage, while in some smaller Dutch cities more than 70% of the measured areas are green.

Europe remains the greenest region, with cities like Rome and Edinburgh showing significant increases in green spaces. Vilnius, Lithuania, stands out among European capitals for its extensive and well-distributed green areas, often covered by trees. Prague, Warsaw, and Berlin also boast substantial and healthy green spaces.

Nature positive cities are possible

Despite the overall decline, 87 of the 342 analyzed cities managed to add more green space than they lost. Santiago is a notable example, with a net growth of 9.8 million m² of green areas, likely due to heavy rains in June 2023.

“By tracking changes in urban vegetation, we can monitor the balance in each city. The fact that 25% of the cities managed to maintain or increase their green spaces shows that reversing the decline is possible,” says Erik Swan, green space specialist and project manager for HUGSI at Husqvarna Group.

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How was the study conducted?

Learn more about how the study was done and our methodology in the How it works section.