What does the map show?

The green cover map uses high-resolution aerial imagery and land use mapping to identify how much of London is covered by trees, plants and open water across the entire city, not just in parks open spaces. This includes green roofs, trees in private gardens and road verges, for example.

Why was the map created?

In the London Environment Strategy, the Mayor committed to make more than half of London by 2050. Previously, the best available data could not be used to monitor London's progress against this target as it did not map green and blue cover in sufficient detail. This new map provides the baseline for measuring future change.

The mapping indicates that London’s green cover is between 48%-51%. The baseline is presented as a range to account for variations in the analysis of aerial imagery. As the upper limit is over 50% it does not mean that the Mayor’s ambition to make more than half of London green has been met. The Mayor’s ambition is to make London greener than it is today. To determine if that is being achieved we will measure change against the both the upper and lower limits.