Less than 15% of Europe’s urban population has adequate access to green spaces, according to a study published on 9 April, which highlights major inequalities linked to climate and the level of wealth in cities.
According to this study carried out by the European Commission and the University of Copenhagen, only 13.5% of the inhabitants of 862 European cities live according to the ‘3-30-300’ principle. These green urban planning guidelines recommend having three trees in sight from every home, having 30% canopy cover in every neighbourhood, and living within 300 meters of a high-quality green space.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study also shows that 21% of the urban population lives in areas that do not meet any of these criteria.
The highest compliance rates are found in Northern and Central European cities such as Helsinki (57%), Hamburg (55%) and Krakow (47%). On the other hand, Mediterranean cities such as Athens, Palermo and Cordoba show levels of less than 4%. On average, towns with a high GDP per capita offer twice as much access to nature as smaller towns.
For further details: https://aeur.eu/f/lj2 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)