Paris named Grand Winner of the AIPH World Green City Awards 2026

The City of Paris, France, was named Grand Winner of the AIPH World Green City Awards 2026 for its inspiring “Retrofitting Paris into a biodiversity friendly city” initiative.

During the 78th AIPH Annual Congress in Bari, Italy, the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) announced the winning urban greening initiatives for the 2026 edition of the AIPH World Green City Awards. From the 21 Finalists, eight cities were named Category Winners for demonstrating remarkable innovation, achievement, and commitment to the globally recognized imperative to embrace nature-orientated solutions to help address the major challenges facing cities.

Paris, France, received the highest accolade for its ambitious approach to embedding biodiversity across one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Through its Bioclimatic Local Urban Master Plan and Biodiversity Strategy, Paris is integrating plants and green infrastructure into buildings, streets, and public spaces to restore ecosystems, reduce climate risks, and reconnect nature across the city. Green roofs, new parks, ecological corridors, and extensive tree planting are helping Paris respond to the challenges of limited green space, rising temperatures, and the urban heat island effect.

© AIPH

“Paris stands out because it shows how a crowded, historic concrete jungle can successfully bring nature back. They aren’t just giving advice; they made greening a legal requirement for developers. They are doing this on a huge scale, targeting 5,000 social housing units a year and ramping up to 40,000 private condos annually by 2030,” said Jury Member Kotchakorn Voraakhom, CEO and Founder of LandProcess and Porous City Network.

© Ville de Paris. Place de Catalogne, Paris, France.

The Category Winners were recognised across eight themes. In Living Green for Biodiversity & Urban Ecosystem Restoration, the winners were “Retrofitting Paris into a biodiversity friendly city” in Paris, France, and “Surrey’s Green Infrastructure Network – Preserving Biodiversity for Future Generations” in Surrey, Canada. Living Green for Climate Change went to “Mission Million Trees – Planting 14 million trees in Ahmedabad” in Ahmedabad, India. Living Green for Health & Wellbeing was awarded to “Cidade da Criança: Nature-Based Early Childhood Infrastructure in Fortaleza” in Fortaleza, Brazil. Living Green for Water recognised the “Melaka River Rehabilitation and Beautification Project” in Malacca, Malaysia. Living Green for Social Cohesion & Inclusive Communities went to “Green City Chiang Rai – Plant Trees, Plant People” in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Living Green for Urban Agriculture & Food Systems was awarded to “Programa Altépetl” in Mexico City, Mexico. Finally, Living Green for Urban Infrastructure & Liveability recognised “Greening the Future – Sheffield’s Model for Climate Resilient Urban Design” in Sheffield, UK.

Bill Hardy, Chair of the AIPH Green City Committee and Awards Jury Chair, commented: “Each edition of the AIPH World Green City Awards continues to grow in both quality and alignment with the broader goals of advancing global Green City initiatives. This year featured some of the strongest entries we have seen to date, with many submissions expanding and redefining the scope of their respective categories through innovation, integration, and measurable impact.”

Recognising the importance of engaging young people in urban greening, the city of Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, was presented with the AIPH Youth Award for its “Bunia Climate-Shield: A Green Belt for Urban Resilience” initiative. Held in collaboration with the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN), the AIPH Youth Award celebrates and rewards cities using the power of plants to meet the aspirations of the global youth and fulfil their need for a greener, healthier, and more resilient urban future. A jury of 14 young professionals selected the shortlist and winner from the 21 Finalists. The Bunia Climate-Shield initiative is transforming schools into hubs for urban greening and water management, combining tree planting, school gardens, agroforestry, and planted water systems to reduce flooding and erosion, restore ecosystems, and improve food security. More than 6,000 students are engaged in the project, gaining practical knowledge and skills while contributing directly to their city’s resilience.

In addition to selecting the 21 Finalists, the Technical Panel nominated nine entries to receive Certificates of Merit. Although these initiatives did not score highly enough to be Finalists, they demonstrate a particularly bold and innovative feature or characteristic that members of the Technical Panel believe is inspiring, replicable, and worthy of recognition. These entries were the “Gulu City Green Energy and Sustainability Initiative: Scaling Charcoal Briquettes for Cleaner Air and Economic Growth” in Gulu City, Uganda; “Hail Is the Most Beautiful” in Hail, Saudi Arabia; “Büyükçekmece Lake Natural Life Park” in Istanbul, Türkiye; “The URDT Green Belt” in Kagadi, Uganda; “Salvador Botanical Garden” in Salvador, Brazil; “Farahzaad Ecosystem Management Zone” in Tehran, Iran; “The Green Renaissance of Tehran – Economic Resilience Through Sustainable Urban Plant Management,” also in Tehran, Iran; “Agro-Sustainable Systems for Life, Municipal Public Company for Economic Development – EDEC EP” in Cuenca, Ecuador; and “Addressing the Loss of Species, Habitats, Ecosystem Health, and Genetic Diversity” in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

The AIPH World Green City Awards 2026 demonstrate the breadth of action being taken by cities to create greener, healthier, and more resilient urban environments. By recognising and sharing these leading initiatives, AIPH aims to inspire further action, encourage cities to learn from one another, and accelerate the integration of plants and green spaces into urban development around the world.