Where sustainability is a city policy, not a slogan
8 of the World's Greenest Cities
Vienna, Copenhagen, Singapore and a handful of others lead almost every global ranking of urban sustainability, air quality and green-space per resident.
'Greenest city' rankings vary wildly depending on what you measure — emissions per capita, share of renewable energy, tree cover, transit use. A small group of cities tend to show up on every list anyway.
Berlin, Germany · pop. 3,769,962
Roughly 40% of Berlin is parks, forest, lakes or waterways — and the city continues to electrify its transit faster than most.
British Columbia, Canada · pop. 662,248
Vancouver's Greenest City Action Plan made it one of the lowest-emission large cities in North America.
Wellington, New Zealand · pop. 215,900
Wellington's town belt of native forest wraps around the city; it's one of the few capitals where you can hike to native birds from downtown.
Singapore, Singapore · pop. 5,535,002
Singapore's 'City in a Garden' policy treats greenery as core infrastructure, not landscaping.
Vienna, Austria · pop. 2,042,036
Vienna has consistently topped Mercer's Quality of Living index — partly thanks to its huge urban forest and clean water from the Alps.
Uusimaa, Finland · pop. 695,526
Helsinki's combination of forest cover, district heating and clean public transport puts it in every global top-five.
Stockholm, Sweden · pop. 984,748
Stockholm runs almost entirely on renewable energy and was the first city to win the EU's Green Capital award.
Capital Region, Denmark · pop. 613,288
Copenhagen targets carbon-neutrality and has built more cycling infrastructure per capita than almost any city on Earth.
More lists
10 Cities With the Most Skyscrapers in the World
Where the skyline never stops climbing
10 Cities With the Worst Traffic in the World
Where rush hour is a way of life
10 Cities With the Best Public Transportation
Where you really don't need a car
8 Highest-Altitude Cities in the World
Where the air gets thin and the views get long
8 Oldest Continuously Inhabited Cities in the World
Places where someone has been home for thousands of years
10 Coldest Inhabited Cities in the World
Where winter is genuinely dangerous
10 Hottest Cities in the World
Where summer routinely crosses 50°C
10 Largest Megacities in the World
Where tens of millions share a single metro
8 Cities Built on Water
Where canals are the streets
10 of the World's Best-Preserved Old Towns
Where history is still the street plan
10 Most Expensive Cities in the World
Where a coffee costs ten dollars
10 Most Visited Cities by International Tourists
Where the world goes on holiday
7 of the Rainiest Inhabited Places on Earth
Where the rain is the climate, not the weather
8 of the Northernmost Cities in the World
Where the sun stops setting in summer
7 of the Southernmost Cities in the World
Where the next stop is Antarctica
8 of the Sunniest Cities in the World
Where clouds are a special event
8 of the World's Most Famous Mountain & Ski Towns
Where altitude is the address
7 of the World's Most Multilingual Cities
Where the official languages run into the dozens
8 Cities With the Most Billionaires
Where extreme wealth concentrates
10 of the Best Cities for Digital Nomads
Where Wi-Fi, weather and visas all line up
10 Cities Most at Risk From Rising Sea Levels
Where climate change is a near-term planning problem
10 of the World's Most Walkable Cities
Where the car is a guest, not the host
10 of the World's Best Cities for Nightlife
Where 'last call' is a foreign concept
10 of the World's Best Food Cities
Where eating is the point of visiting
For entertainment only. Rankings on this page are editorial picks compiled from public sources for fun and discovery — they aren't a scientific measurement. Population figures and place details come from open data; see the linked place pages for sources.