Since the late 18th century, Prato has been known as the "Manchester of Tuscany", Florence's industrial suburb. However, it is wrong to think of Prato as a factory city. Prato is, rather, a green city, one of the greenest cities in Tuscany.
Thanks to its many public parks (Ippodromo, Galceti Park, the Bisenzio River Park, the many city gardens) and the system of protected areas (Monteferrato, Calvana and Cascine di Tavola), there are over 39 square meters of urban green area per citizen (source Istat-Urbes). This legacy is set to increase in the near future.
Prato's Parco Centrale, which is being designed, will create by 2019 a 3-hectare green area inside the city's historical walls.
Prato’s respect for the environment has its roots in the past. This city was one of the first in Italy to invest in separate waste collection, and today 48% of all collected materials is recycled. There has been a water purification plant in the city since the 1980s; the recycled water is used, through an industrial aqueduct, in the wet processes typical of the textile industry (dyeing, finishing, etc).