The robinia tree in Square René-Viviani, planted in 1601, is known as the oldest tree in Paris, located in the 5th arrondissement in 2016. This tree has a rich history and is a significant part of the city’s heritage.
The villa Windsor, an elegant mansion located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, has been home to many illustrious tenants over the years. From General de Gaulle during the Liberation to the former King of England, Edward VIII, who became the Duke of Windsor after his abdication, and his wife. In the 1980s, the Egyptian businessman, Mohamed Al-Fayed, rented the residence. The property’s lush 7,000-square-meter park has always been shrouded in mystery, but the public will have the opportunity to explore it for the first time in May 2024 during the “Jardins, Jardin” event.
The opening of the park to the public is a significant development, especially since Paris has set a goal to open 300 new hectares of green spaces to the public by 2040. This plan aims to meet the recommended threshold of 10 square meters of green space per inhabitant as outlined by the World Health Organization. With the impending threat of climate change, green spaces are becoming increasingly essential for the future of cities.
Paris currently has 8.6 square meters of green space per inhabitant, and finding the available land to expand this is a monumental challenge. The strategy to address this issue involves utilizing existing spaces in each neighborhood, transforming parking lots into green areas, and creating new concepts like “garden streets.”
The detailed plan for achieving this goal was presented by the city’s deputy mayor for urbanism, Emmanuel Grégoire, and the deputy mayor for green spaces, Christophe Najdovski, to the municipal majority on November 30th. This initiative represents a new approach to addressing the scarcity of green spaces in Paris and sets the stage for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future for the city.
