# Urban Parks



## UrbanSophist (Aug 4, 2005)

What are the largest urban parks in the world?

A top 20 would be great, if anyone has the info.


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## Macca-GC (May 20, 2004)

I know Roma Street Parklands in Brisbane is the largest Sub-Tropical Urban Park in the world(something like that).


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## wjfox (Nov 1, 2002)

London has Richmond Park (seen in the lower-left area of the photo below) which covers 10 square kilometres, along with Hyde Park, Regents Park and many others.

In terms of the overall amount of parks/greenery, London has the most of any city of its size, with 39% of its total area being "green".


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Ibirapuera in Sampa is quite big as well:

















Most impressed I was always by Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens...


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

It may not be the biggest in the world but it's one the biggest in HK

Victoria Park


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## DiggerD21 (Apr 22, 2004)

I only know that the worlds biggest park cemetery is located here in Hamburg.


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## Jules (Jun 27, 2004)

I'd think Central Park is up there.


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

Van Cortland and Pelham Bay Pks are the only other NYC parks bigger than Central Pk.


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## svs (Dec 5, 2005)

Griffith Park in LA, 4175 acres. Includes Zoo, two train rides, ponies, Greek theater, Observatory, travel town, stables, MUseum of the West, several golf courses, fern dell, a bird sanctuary, and most of the park is wilderness in the middle of the city.


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## svs (Dec 5, 2005)

I googled this. Does it help?

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_449.html


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## _00_deathscar (Mar 16, 2005)

wjfox2002 said:


> In terms of the overall amount of parks/greenery, London has the most of any city of its size, with 39% of its total area being "green".


Isn't something like 70% of Hong Kong mountains and countryside?


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

WANCH said:


> It may not be the biggest in the world but it's one the biggest in HK
> 
> Victoria Park


Hong Kong's Victoria Park is not the city' s biggest park at 17 hectares.

Occupying an area of about 22 hectares, the $210-million *Tai Po Waterfront Park* is the largest park managed by Leisure and Cultural Service Department. The main design feature is that the Park rests on a hill with the central part being the highest point. From this strategic point, visitors can capture the view of the whole park. They can also go up to the lookout tower to have a panoramic view of the Tolo Harbour and the surroundings.

http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/tpwp/en/index.php


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## LLoydGeorge (Jan 14, 2006)

The best urban parks that I have been to are:

1. Central Park
2. Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens
3. Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
4. Retiro Park (Madrid)
5. English Garden (Munich)


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## wjfox (Nov 1, 2002)

_00_deathscar said:


> Isn't something like 70% of Hong Kong mountains and countryside?


Perhaps. But London is bigger than Hong Kong.

My point was, no other city the size of London can match the amount of parks and greenery it has.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

I guess the London olympic park will be pretty big.


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## _00_deathscar (Mar 16, 2005)

wjfox2002 said:


> Perhaps. But London is bigger than Hong Kong.
> 
> My point was, no other city the size of London can match the amount of parks and greenery it has.


Is it really that much bigger?

From wikipedia.org

Hong Kong: 1,103 km² x 0.7 = 772 km2

London: 1,579 km² x 0.4 = 631.6 km2


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## Pavlvs (Jan 5, 2005)

Rome: 1290Km2 x 0.68 = 877,82 km2


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

wjfox2002 said:


> Perhaps. But London is bigger than Hong Kong.
> 
> My point was, no other city the size of London can match the amount of parks and greenery it has.


Hong Kong is about 70% countryside. A total of 23 Country Parks and 15 Special Areas (11 of which lie inside Country Parks) have been established. They cover a total area of 41,582 hectares = 415.82 sq km.

Country Park Area = 415.82 sq km
Total HK Area = 1,092 sq km 

That means country parks cover about 40% of Hong Kong.


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## LLoydGeorge (Jan 14, 2006)

LLoydGeorge said:


> The best urban parks that I have been to are:
> 
> 1. Central Park
> 2. Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens
> ...


I'm sorry. I thought that this was a list of the 20 best. Central Park and Prospect Park, while among the best, are not the biggest in NY. Here's a list from the NYC Parks Department of the ten biggest parks in NYC (Prospect Park is not even on the list):

1. Pelham Bay Park, Bronx 2,765 acres 
2. Greeenbelt, Staten Island 1,778 acres 
3. Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens 1,255 acres 
4. Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx 1,146 acres 
5. Central Park, Manhattan 843 acres 
6. Fresh Kills Park, Staten Island 813 acres 
7. Marine Park, Brooklyn 798 acres 
8. Bronx Park, Bronx 718 acres 
9.. Alley Pond Park, Queens 655 acres
10. Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk, South and Midland Beaches, Staten Island 638 acres


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## ssiguy2 (Feb 19, 2005)

StanleyPark in Vancouver is the largest urban park in NA.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

ssiguy2 said:


> StanleyPark in Vancouver is the largest urban park in NA.


"Stanley Park, Vancouver's first park, is an evergreen oasis of *400 hectares (1,000 acres)* close to the heart of Vancouver's downtown core. Its natural west coast atmosphere offering a back drop of majestic cedar, hemlock and fir trees embraces visitors and transports them to an environment rich in tranquility."

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/parks/stanley/

In terms of the best parks, I consider *Parc Guell* in Barcelona the best architecture-wise.


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## pottebaum (Sep 11, 2004)

^ssiguy
I thought that park (can't remember the name) in Edmonton was....?


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## Jules (Jun 27, 2004)

LLoydGeorge said:


> I'm sorry. I thought that this was a list of the 20 best. Central Park and Prospect Park, while among the best, are not the biggest in NY. Here's a list from the NYC Parks Department of the ten biggest parks in NYC (Prospect Park is not even on the list):
> 
> 1. Pelham Bay Park, Bronx 2,765 acres
> 2. Greeenbelt, Staten Island 1,778 acres
> ...


Wow, Central Park isn't even the biggest in NY! :runaway:


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## willo (Jan 3, 2005)

Retrio park in Madrid has about 635 hectares


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## KGB (Sep 12, 2002)

Within Toronto's city borders, there are enormous linear park systems...mainly the Humber, Don, and Rouge river valleys. Each are not referred to as "one" park, but are rather broken up into various parks, wilderness areas and recreational areas, although they constitute a single contigious area. Just how many acres each are is anyone's guess...many, many thousands of acres each I would imagine.






KGB


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## fierce_latino (Feb 21, 2005)

San Diego has the biggest urban park in California, Mission Trails Park at 5800 acres and centrally located only 8 miles northwest of Downtown. Balboa park is also pretty big at 1200 acres and with the world-renowned San Diego Zoo and the largest cultural complex in the city.


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

For Copenhagen it's Dyrehaven ( 1500 ha - 3 700 acres ) containing stuff like "Bakken" ( world's oldest amusementpark ) golfcourses, tons of creepy deers and the Erimitage Slot  ( old hunting "hut"  for the Royals )


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## HelloMoto163 (Aug 13, 2005)

the biggest parks in the world:
Bois de Boulogne, Paris, 8,4 km²
Phoenix Park, Dublin, 7 km²
Eilenriede, Hannover, 6,5 km²
Grunewald, Berlin, 4,5 km²
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 4,1 km²
Englischer Garten,München (Munich) 3,7 km²
Central Park, New York, 3,4 km²


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## Metropolitan (Sep 21, 2004)

Here are the two largest parks in Paris :

*Boulogne Wood :* 9,95 km² (2,459 acres)





















*Vincennes Wood :* 8,46 km² (2,091 acres)












However, they are not the most beautiful parks in the city.
Here are the other parks in Paris (I don't know their size but they are a lot smaller) :

*Parc Monceau :*












*Jardin du Luxembourg :*





















*Buttes Chaumont :*





















*Montmartre :*






























*Champs de Mars :*






























*Place des Vosges :*












*Parc de Bercy :*












*Parc de la Villette :*





















*Jardins de Versailles :*
















































*Parc de Sceaux :*


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## empersouf (Mar 19, 2004)

central park is the biggest right?


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

You should re-read my earlier post in this thread. ^^


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## samsonyuen (Sep 23, 2003)

I've read Rouge Park in Scarborough, northeast Toronto as the largest urban park in North America. Stanley Park in Vancouver's huge too.


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## stlouiscityboy (Apr 7, 2005)

Forest Park is one of the largest (URBAN) parks in the usa. 1293 acres.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

So this is the list so far (from the figures already posted here) And I've added a few myself.

Frankfurt Stadtwald (Frankfurt) 4800 hectares
St Germain's Forest (Paris) 3500 hectares
Mission Trails Park (San Diego) 2347 hectares
Griffith Park (LA) 1689 hectares
fairmount park (Philadelphia) 1700 hectares
Dyrehaven (Copenhagen) 1500 hectares
Pelham Bay Park, (NY) 1119 hectares
Richmond Park (London) 1012 hectares
Bois de Boulogne (Paris) 995 hectares
Vincennes Wood (Paris) 846 hectares
Greeenbelt, (NY) 719 hectares
Phoenix Park (Dublin) 712 hectares
Eilenriede (Hannover) 650 hecatres
Retrio park (Madrid) 635 hectares
Forest Park (St. Louis) 520 hectares
Flushing Meadows Corona Park, (NY) 508 hectares
Van Cortlandt Park, (NY) 464 hectares
Bushy Park (London) 451 hectares
Grunewald (Berlin) 450 hectares
Englischer Garten (Munich) 417 hectares
Golden Gate Park (San Francisco) 410 hectares
Kings Park (Perth) 408 hectares
Stanley Park (Vancouver) 400 hectares
Central Park, (NY) 341 hectares
Fresh Kills Park (NY) 329 hectares
Marine Park, (NY) 323 hectares
Bronx Park, (NY) 291 hectares
Alley Pond Park, (NY) 265 hectares
Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens (London) 253 hectares
Regents Park (London) 197 hectares
Tiergarten (Berlin) 112 hectares


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## DiggerD21 (Apr 22, 2004)

Hamburg's biggest parks:

Park cemetery Ohlsdorf, 400 hectares
Volkspark, 153 hectares
Stadtpark, more than 150 hectares
Öjendorfer Park, 60 hectares
Planten Un Blomen, 47 hectares

Is the Stadtwald in Frankfurt a forest or a park?


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

DiggerD21 said:


> Hamburg's biggest parks:
> 
> Park cemetery Ohlsdorf, 400 hectares
> Volkspark, 153 hectares
> ...


Good question. It's as much a park as the large "parks" suggested by others here such as Mission Trails Park and Griffith Park, although of cause, as the name suggests, it is mainly left in a natural state.

It is only 10minutes drive from the city center of Frankfurt. In fact, from my Apartment, I can walk to the Stadtwald in 5minutes, yet I can also walk to downtown Frankfurt. Not only is there suburban train stations that can reach it, but a tram line passes entirely through it with a station right in the middle, so it has excellent urban transport links.

It is described as the largest inner-city forest in Germany, although it also contains 1600 seating benchs 25 rest huts, ponds/lakes and playgrounds, as well as pubs, resturants and drinking area's. Germany's largest wooden observation tower. And of cause a football stadium which will be one of the World Cup Venues this year.

Unlike a normal forest, the Stadtwald is totally crisscrossed with paths, roads and biking trails (not forgetting the already mentioned tram line that passes right through, plus another two lines that terminate in the Stadtwald)

wikipedia's take: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_City_Forest


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## Hebrewtext (Aug 18, 2004)

Tel Aviv - Yaffo largest park :
the Yarkon park , the central part of it counts some 4000 dunam (360 hectares)


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

Here is an ariel of Central Pk since its stretches for nearly 50 blocks.


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## Jules (Jun 27, 2004)

^Oh man, I love Central Park in the fall. When the trees are multi-colored, it's gorgeous.


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## LLoydGeorge (Jan 14, 2006)

Wow! That is an awesome photo!


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