It is the Polish city that breaks records. Greenery occupies more than half of its surface

“Are you playing green? I play! You have green? I have!” – More and more Polish cities can boast of green space. In many native metropolises, forests and wooded and shrubs cover more space than urbanized areas. Gethome.pl experts checked which Polish cities combine the best urban lifestyle with access to nature. They analyzed the Green Sitman and created the ranking of “the most green cities in Poland in 2025” ..

– In recent years, the landscape of the largest Polish cities has been evolving under the influence of “green transformation”, which is one of the priorities of local government authorities. This is manifested in both planning strategies and in specific investments and the involvement of residents – says Marek Wielgo, an expert of the Gethome.pl portal. And as an example, he gives Warsaw, Kraków, Łódź and Wrocław, where a total of 16 new city parks were established last year.

A green revolution in Polish cities

As the expert notes, Łódź undergoes a real green revolution. Thanks to the initiatives of residents as part of the Civic Ekobstrze, 10 new parks were created there, of which as many as five are forest. In Krakow, in turn, the function of a municipal gardener was established, which is to coordinate the activities of all institutions responsible for urban greenery. The city authorities announce a further purchase of areas for parks, squares and gardens, as well as intensification of activities related to the “recovery” of public spaces. Warsaw is already implementing this plan – only in 2024 the Greenery Board of the Capital City of Warsaw Warsaw was removed by concrete and asphalt from an area with a total area of ​​about 3.3 thousand. square meters. Wrocław, however, boasts as many as 56 new squares and greenery created in recent years. As emphasized by Marek Wielgo, according to data from geoportal.gov.pl only in 2024, forest and wooded and shrubny areas increased in Wrocław by 59 hectares, in Krakow by 50 ha, and in Warsaw – by 5 ha.

The most green Polish cities 2025 – here are the leaders

Experts of the Gethome.pl portal decided to check what the current level of “afforestation” of Polish voivodship cities looks like, based on data from geoportal.gov.pl. The analysis included not only forests, but also wooded and shrubbred. It turns out that Zielona Góra remains consistently – forest areas occupy more than half of the city area. However, as researchers from the Municipal Policy Observatory of the Institute of Development of Cities and Regions (IRMIR), Zielona Góra noted is an example of the so -called Artificially overgrown city – in 2015 it was increased almost five times by including the surrounding rural areas. As a result, its borders cover many areas of a rural character, which have little to do with typical urbanization. Katowice came second, which – unlike Zielona Góra – did not change their borders, and yet they increased the area of ​​forest areas, wooded and shrub by 14 hectares only last year.

– It is high time to overthrow the myth that the capital of Upper Silesia is a gray, industrial city. Forest areas occupy as much as 43 percent. its area. For comparison, the share of industrial areas here is only 8 percent. – comments Marek Wielgo.

In the third place of the green ranking was Bydgoszcz, in which forests and ground lands constitute 30 percent. surface.

The least green Polish cities 2025

Rzeszów (3 percent), Gorzów Wielkopolski (5 percent) and Kraków (6 percent) were at the second pole of the green ranking. Marek Wielgo, however, points out that such a low share of green areas can be apparent. The actual level of greening is much higher, which is confirmed by the research of scientists from the Irmir Municipal Policy Observatory, based on the analysis of satellite photos. After taking into account such elements as home gardens, trees and shrubs between blocks and meadows (excluding arable fields), among voivodship cities with a high share of the so -called Biologically active areas were, among others Łódź and Poznań. Scientists also emphasize the importance of the availability of greenery – that is how many residents can reach on foot, within a maximum of five minutes, to the area of ​​green with an area of ​​at least 1 hectares. In this category, Rzeszów and Kraków do very well, where most of the inhabitants have greenery “at your fingertips.” For contrast – in Katowice, despite the large share of green areas, this availability is much lower.

You live better in green cities

As experts from Gethome.pl notice, greenery in cities plays an increasingly important role in improving the quality of life of residents. It is increasingly talking about it not only as an aesthetic addition, but as a “green infrastructure” – a key tool for adapting cities to climate change. Trees and lawns act as natural air filters: they absorb suspended dust (PM10, PM2.5) and harmful gases such as nitrogen dioxide (no₂) or sulfur dioxide (SO₂), which affects the decrease in the incidence of respiratory diseases. Green also helps to lower the temperature in cities, limiting the effect of the so -called Urban heat island – trees work like natural air conditioners, cooling the air up to a few degrees.

The presence of greenery is conducive to physical activity – parks, walking paths and exercise squares encourage movement, which reduces the risk of obesity, heart disease or diabetes. Contact with nature also positively affects mental health – it reduces stress, symptoms of anxiety and depression. Protted so -called The effect of “forest bath” shows that already several dozen minutes spent among greenery brings measurable benefits to the nervous and hormonal systems.

However, that’s not all. Green roofs, rain gardens and floodplains improve water retention and protect against the effects of tallfall, reducing the risk of flooding. Urban ecosystems, such as forests and parks, create natural ecological corridors that increase the agglomeration’s resistance to extreme weather phenomena. All this also translates into the real estate market – the more green in the environment, the higher the investment value of the location.

– Flats with a view of the forest or park find buyers faster. In addition, in the largest cities they reach at least a dozen or so percent higher price compared to apartments with similar parameters, but devoid of this value – says Gethome.pl expert.