2006 - 2026: What are the most surprising changes to happen in major cities?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

That's in the City of Paris proper, which is very small in terms of land area compared to other European cities which have annexed their suburbs.

In the Greater Paris Metropolis (814 km²/314 sq. miles), which is more comparable to other European cities, 39% of the land area is parks, woods, and forests. That's among the highest in Europe.

No one is arguing that Greater Paris doesn't have green space. Paris is defined by its core, obviously. It has one of the most iconic cores on the planet. The core has amazing assets, but green space isn't one of them. It's one of the least green major cities on earth. Street trees are rare, sizable parks are rare, and the parks tend to be the traditional French style, which are not particularly green. It's a dramatic contrast to places like London and Berlin.

And this isn't a bad thing. I definitely prefer the Paris core. Berlin's core sucks and London's core still trails Paris. But no one would describe Paris as particularly green.

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

It's the same in Paris, lots of forests around the city to choose from. In Europe, only Berlin and Stockholm have as many forests around as Paris.

This cannot be true. One can easily walk from the Frankfurt main rail station to a 60 square km forest. Frankfurt has forests in all directions, mostly walkable from city center. Stuttgart and Hamburg are largely the same.