Kenya’s capital, Nairobi has been ranked Africa’s number one environmentally-friendly city, and number 14 worldwide for a gateway.
This is according to a list compiled by international travel-booking company Tourlane to celebrate World Environment Day.
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Nairobi’s high scores came in the categories of low car ownership, the use of renewable energy, and its low ratio of tourists to locals.
According to a report by Times Live, Tourlane’s researchers used eight categories to reach its conclusions, with each city being given a score out of 10 in each one for a total score out of 80.
The categories were;
Clean Air – This score is based on the World Air Quality Index. A higher score equates to better air quality.
Tourist Capacity – This score is based on the ratio of local residents to the number of international overnight visitors. Tourlane used population and visitor data provided by the cities to calculate this ratio. A higher score equates to a higher ratio of locals to visitors.
Recycling – This score is based on the percentage of waste that is recycled. A higher score equates to a higher percentage of waste being recycled. Tourlane explained that Nairobi’s high scores came in the categories of low car ownership, the use of renewable energy, and its low ratio of tourists to locals.
Renewable Energy – This score is based on the percentage of total energy consumption that comes from renewable energy. A higher score equates to a higher percentage of renewable energy usage
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Green Space – This score is based on the percentage of the city that is made up of green space. A higher score equates to a higher percentage of green space. Tourlane used a leading online analysis of urban green space based on computer vision and deep learning techniques on satellite images.
Car Free – This score is based on the number of cars per 1000 inhabitants. A higher score equates to a lower number of cars per 1000 inhabitants. A leading online statistics website was used to calculate this score.
Train Accessibility – This score is based on the number of countries that are reachable by direct train. A higher score equates to a higher number of international connections. International train timetables were used to calculate this score.
Public Transport – This score is based on the length of the metro network and light rail network of each city. A higher score equates to a more extensive metro and light rail network. Data provided by the public transport networks was used to calculate this score.
Overall, Berlin ranked as the best city for an eco-friendly getaway.
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Second and third places went to Vienna and Munich respectively.
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