Paris named grand winner of the AIPH World Green City Awards 2026

Place de Catalogne, Paris, France

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

Landscape

21 October 2026

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 recognised imperative to embrace nature-orientated solutions to help address the major challenges facing cities.

“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,” Bill Hardy, chair of the AIPH Green City committee and awards jury chair, said.

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.

“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,” Kotchakorn Voraakhom, CEO and founder of Landprocess and Porous City Network, said.

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.