As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020, Resonance Consultancy’s new index of the world’s greenest cities provides direction for cities of all kinds in best practices for urban design in a post-COVID-19 world.
#1 Vienna, Austria
The birthplace of modernism has a bounty of fresh ideas about mobility and public parks. But the commitment comes from a history of methodical city planning that has given the world everything from the English garden-inspired City Park (opened in 1862) to an actual national park just outside of town (Nationalpark Donau Auen). Vienna is also the European benchmark for public transit, with almost half of the city’s population holding an annual transit pass—and using it religiously.