ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
ON TRACK TO BECOME THE WORLD’S NEXT
NATIONAL PARK CITYWith the UN predicting that two-thirds of the world’s
population will live in cities by 2050, sowing the seeds
for greener, healthier urban areas now is vital. That’s the
idea behind the National Park City movement, a global
drive to make urban life better for people and nature
by applying national park principles to entire cities.
Following the lead of London, which became the world’s
fi rst National Park City in 2019, metropolitan Adelaide is
vying to become the second.
Already named the third-most-liveable city on the
planet in The Global Liveability Index 2021, South
Australia’s cosmopolitan, coastal capital is working
to become cooler, greener, wilder and more climate-
resilient through rewilding projects, such as creating
more butterfl y-friendly habitats, studying the possibility
of bringing the platypus back to the River Torrens aft er
a 140-year hiatus and awarding grants to plant tens of
thousands of trees across South Australia. Green Adelaide
is also spearheading the Adelaide National Park City
eff ort, which, among other goals, challenges individuals,
communities, businesses and organisations to live and
work more sustainably and connect regularly with nature.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL (US)ŁÓDŹ, POLAND
FOCUS ON A FACTORY TOWN TURNED
SUSTAINABLE-LIVING LEADERNamed a UNESCO City of Film in 2017 for its rich
cinematic culture, Łódź in central Poland was a major
textile manufacturing hub in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Now Poland’s Hollywood is fl ipping the script on its
industrial past to create a greener future.
Łódź is a leader in sustainable living, embracing
innovative ecological solutions, such as using pre-
RDF (refuse-derived fuel) and biomass energy to heat
homes. In 2021, the city partnered with the European
e-commerce delivery platform InPost to reduce CO2
emissions and traffi c in the city centre by installing 70
parcel locker locations and electric car-charging stations.
Nearly a third of Łódź is green space, ranging from
new parks to the 2,977-acre Łagiewnicki Forest. In the
city’s former industrial areas, abandoned factories are
being reborn as parks, cultural centres, residences and
retail spaces. The trendiest spot on the cultural map is
OFF Piotrkowska, a buzzing art, design, dining and club
district housed in a former cotton mill. Another factory,
built by the I K Poznański Cotton Products Company, was
reimagined as Manufaktura, an arts centre, shopping
mall and leisure complex spread across 13 buildings.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER (POLAND)Sustainability
The Palm House, a Victorian
greenhouse imported from
Germany in 1875 and renovated
in 1992 at Adelaide Botanic
Garden, Adelaide, Australia
RIGHT: Alexander Nevsky
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Jan/Feb 2022 105BEST OF THE WORLD