Polish cities are becoming greener and greener
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Four Polish metropolises advanced to the final sixteen in the "Green Capital of Europe 2023" competition. Although Tallinn turned out to be the final winner, no other country in the EU could boast such a large representation this year. The international research project ESPON analyzed green projects implemented by finalists of previous editions of the event, proposing actions to help cities achieve common climate goals.
In the competition for the title of the Green Capital of Europe 2023, Warsaw, Rzeszów, Gdańsk, and Kraków advanced to the final sixteen. Although the capital of Estonia ultimately won, the high scores of the largest Polish cities in the competition for the implementation of pro-ecological solutions show how long they have come in the last decades. The political transformation found the urbanized areas of the country dominated by cement and concrete, where parks, squares, and recreational areas only played symbolic functions.
Currently, the average share of green areas in Polish cities is 50 percent. Koszalin, Zielona Góra, and Kielce were at the forefront of the ranking prepared by the Urban Policy Observatory of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development. On the other hand, Rzeszów and Ruda Śląska can boast the greatest accessibility of green areas, understood as the participation of people with access to green areas within a few minutes walk. In Chorzów, on the other hand, there is the largest city park in Poland and one of the largest in Europe, with an area of 620 ha.
