Central Park, perhaps the best-known urban park in the world – not for nothing has been the scene of numerous films, such as the legendary Breakfast with Diamonds (1961), Love Story (1970) or When Harry met Sally (1989) – , has approximate dimensions of 4,000 x 800 meters. To give you an idea, think that, with its 341 hectares of total area, it is larger than two of the smallest nations in the world: it almost multiplies the territory of Monaco by two and that of Vatican City by eight.
The entire park, including its lakes and mountains, are what they are by man-made. The plans for this authentic nature reserve were designed by the American landscape architect, journalist and botanist Frederick Law Olmsted and by Calvert Vaux, also a landscape architect, but a British national. It was completed in 1873 and is home to some 250,000 trees in numerous valleys, including one of the last groves of American elm trees in the northeastern United States .
This large urban park provides various benefits to the inhabitants of the Big Apple and, specifically, to the metropolitan district of Manhattan, where it is located. In addition to being a large recreational and recreational area, it has been proven that a green space revalues the properties in its surroundings, and contributes to purifying the air and generating a cleaner environment .
But let us return at this point to the question posed at the beginning. To answer it, we must bear in mind that the amount of oxygen that a tree can produce is highly variable , since it depends on very different factors such as its species, its age or its health.
However, we can provide a rough estimate. According to calculations made by Reforesta (a non-profit association founded in 1991 and declared of Public Utility) based on data provided in the Forests and Climate Change conference, a tree from a Spanish holm oak releases 42 kilos of oxygen per year on average. If we carry out the extrapolation of these figures, the 250,000 trees in Central Park would generate a total of about 10.5 million kilos of oxygen during those twelve months .
Take a deep breath!
As we have mentioned before, this is not the only benefit that a park like Central Park brings to the people who live in its environment. The green areas of cities, in addition to helping to combat pollution, becoming authentic lungs of the urban environment, help people who live in their surroundings to relax and reduce stress, contribute to improving our physical health – because they encourage us to walking and playing sports in a healthier environment – and they also promote social relationships.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the World Health Organization (WHO) considers these spaces essential to improve our well-being both physically and emotionally. According to this institution, cities should have, at least, between 10 and 15 square meters of green area per inhabitant .
