Ranked: The World’s Cities With the Most Tree Coverage

Ranked: The World’s Cities With the Most Tree Coverage

Urban trees can reduce heat, help manage stormwater, and make streets more comfortable for pedestrians. But measuring how green a city feels at street level is more complicated than simply counting parks.

This ranking uses data from Treepedia, developed by the MIT Senseable City Lab in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, to compare tree canopy visible from streets across major global cities.

Which Cities Have the Greenest Streets?

The following table shows each city’s Green View Index.

Rank	City	Green View Index (%)
1	Tampa	36.1
2	Breda	29.3
3	Singapore	29.3
4	Oslo	28.8
5	Sydney	25.9
6	Vancouver	25.9
7	Montreal	25.5
8	Cambridge	25.3
9	Xalapa	24.0
10	Durban	23.7
11	Johannesburg	23.6
12	Sacramento	23.6
13	Frankfurt	21.5
14	Geneva	21.4
15	Veracruz	21.4
16	Amsterdam	20.6
17	Seattle	20.0
18	Toronto	19.5
19	Miami	19.4
20	Boston	18.2
21	Tel Aviv	17.5
22	Guadalajara	17.3
23	León	16.5
24	Turin	16.2
25	Los Angeles	15.2
26	Buenos Aires	14.5
27	Franca	13.7
28	New York	13.5
29	Cape Town	13.4
30	London	12.7
31	São Paulo	11.7
32	Quito	10.8
33	Kobe	9.4
34	Paris	8.8

Beyond Tampa’s lead, the top of the ranking is geographically diverse. Breda and Singapore tie for second at 29.3%, followed by Oslo at 28.8%, while Sydney and Vancouver tie at 25.9%.

North American cities have a strong showing near the top. Five rank among the top 12, including Tampa, Vancouver, Montreal, Cambridge, and Sacramento.

What Does the Green View Index Measure?

Treepedia’s Green View Index runs from 0 to 100 and estimates the percentage of tree canopy visible at a given location. Its methodology analyzes Google Street View panoramas using computer vision, providing a pedestrian-level perspective of greenery rather than a satellite view.

This distinction matters because a city with large parks may not necessarily score highly if those trees are not visible from its streets. Treepedia also covers a selection of prominent cities with suitable Street View imagery rather than every urban area worldwide.

As a result, the ranking is best understood as a comparison of street-level greenery among the cities included in Treepedia, not a definitive ranking of every city worldwide.

Why Does Tampa Rank First?

Tampa’s subtropical climate provides favorable growing conditions, while maintaining an urban canopy also requires active management. The city runs sustainability and community initiatives through its Green Team, including tree planting and other environmental projects.

Protecting mature trees is especially important because replacing canopy is a long-term process. Tampa also regulates the removal and replacement of protected trees, helping preserve greenery as the city develops.

More broadly, the ranking highlights an important distinction in urban greening: large parks alone do not necessarily translate into greener-looking streets. Trees integrated into sidewalks, neighborhoods, and transportation corridors have a more direct effect on what pedestrians see.

Why Street-Level Greenery Matters

Street trees can cool urban environments through shade and evapotranspiration while helping mitigate air pollution and absorb stormwater. As climate extremes intensify, researchers are increasingly emphasizing urban vegetation as part of climate adaptation and sustainable city planning.

Recent research on street-level vegetation also highlights the importance of targeting greening efforts so access to greenery is distributed more equitably across neighborhoods.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To see how U.S. cities compare on urban greenery, check out How Green Are America’s Cities in 2025? on the Voronoi app.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-cities-with-the-most-tree-coverage/