Mežaparks
Riga, Latvia

Mežaparks ('Ķēniņu mežs'; literally translated as ‘forest park’) is a neighbourhood in the Northern District of Riga, the capital of Latvia. It consists of a residential area to the south and a large urban park to the north with the same name. In 1901 it became the first neighborhood in the Russian Empire (of which Latvia was a part) to use the principles of the garden city movement – albeit primarily aimed at more wealthy inhabitants – and can therefore be seen as one of the world's first garden cities.

At the end of the 19th century, the principal Riga urban planner Gustavs Ādolfs Agte and landscape architect Georg Kuphaldt developed plans to develop the forest and dune territory of Ķēniņu mežs into a family park for recreation and entertainment. At this time the garden city movement also took root in Europe. Kuphaldt's plan was to create a park – taking Germany's and the United Kingdom's parks as examples – while the street layout would preserve the existing trees and dunes.

In 1900, Riga's government reviewed Kuphaldt's proposed project and decided to develop the Ķēniņu mežs area based on this vision. In 1901, to celebrate Riga's 700 anniversary, Riga City Council officially designated the area to be used half as a recreational location, and half for the construction of villas and summer houses.

Riga City Council funded the development with 500,000 Rubles to construct roads, a tram line, cycleways and bridleways. All construction work in Mežaparks had to be executed in accordance with strict regulations, limiting the height of each building to two floors, the density of buildings on plots, the set-back lines etc.

By 1910 nearly 40 villas were built. The decision was made to increase construction, and the project for the second stage, extending built up area in northern direction, was commissioned to the German urban planner Hermann Jansen.