THE PARK

The Cité Internationale site covers about 37 hectares, making it one of the largest green spaces in Paris and certainly the park with the largest number of historically important buildings. Over a hundred species of trees can be found within the park, and some of them are particularly remarkable plants, such as the Virginia tulip poplar, the Caucasian Wingnut and the giant sequoia. Many families and sports-lovers use the park throughout the year, and there are therefore no flowers as they would most certainly suffer from the large number of visitors. However, the same care is taken of all sectors, both those areas that are less frequented and the prestigious squares or the courtyard of Maison Internationale.

For several years now, the Cité Internationale has followed sustainable development practices, which has involved several work projects and the planting of trees in certain areas (some fifteen trees were planted in 2008). Herbicide and pesticide use has been reduced by 95%. Signs have been placed on nearly a hundred trees in the park to serve as informative tools for the general public, and in the spring of 2010 five beehives will be installed near Argentina House with the help of the association Abeille Parisienne. The Cité Internationale will soon begin working with an urban ecology laboratory to carry out micro-experiments on the interactive plant ecosystems, the soil and water use, with the goal of improving the site’s ecological management.