Urban Romania: 17 square meters of green area per capita

Romanians living in urban areas can brag with only 17 square meters of green area per capita, according to National Statistics Institute (INS) data.

Green space in cities and counties cover parks, public gardens, children playgrounds, tennis courts and totaled 20,269 ha by the end of 2006.

Romanian cities are amoung the last in Europe in terms of green areas for citizens, as compared to Graz or Vienna (Austria) or Helsinki (Finland) where there are 110 sq meters of green area per individual.

According to EU recommendations, an individual living in cities should have at least 30-40 sq meters while World Health Organization recommends 50 sq meters per individual.

From this point of view, cities like Brussels (Belgium) Copenhagen (Denmark), Liverpool (Great Britain) or Hamburg (Germany) enjoy 30, 31, 33 and 35 sq meters of green area per individual.

However, Madrid and Seville (Spain) or Marseille (France) and Luxembourg count less than 10 sq meters.

HotNews.ro, Jul 17, 2007