Community action/York

York's urbanised areas are surrounded by a green belt that restricts development in the rural areas and parts of surrounding villages, to preserve the setting and historic character of the city. The green belt surrounds nearly all of the city and its outer villages, extending out into North Yorkshire.

York Community Woodland is a site managed by Forestry England near Knapton in York, England. The site covers 78 hectares (193 acres), and by its opening in 2024, 210,000 trees had been planted. The site is owned by the City of York Council, and offers an open space on the western side of the City of York. Spare land has been allocated on the eastern side for a possible ring road expansion, and when the landfill site to the west is remediated, provision has been made for the woodland to expand over that area.

York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, including the minster, castle and city walls, all of which are Grade I listed. It is the traditional county town of Yorkshire, and the administrative centre of the City of York district. It is located 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Leeds, 90 miles (140 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 207 miles (333 km) north of London. York's built-up area had a recorded population of 141,685 at the 2021 census.

The city was founded under the name of Eboracum in AD 71. It then became the capital of Britannia Inferior, a province of the Roman Empire, and was later the capital of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria, and Scandinavian York. In the Middle Ages it became the northern England ecclesiastical province's centre, and grew as a wool-trading centre. In the 19th century, it became a major railway network hub and confectionery-manufacturing centre. During the Second World War, York was bombed in the Baedeker Blitz; although it was targeted less during the war than other more industrialised northern cities, several historic buildings were gutted and restoration lasted until the 1960s.

Historic local governance of the city was as a county corporate, not included in the county's riding system. The city has since been governed locally as a municipal borough, county borough, non-metropolitan district and since 1996, by the City of York unitary authority which also includes surrounding villages, rural areas and the town of Haxby. The current district's local council, City of York Council, is responsible for providing all local services and facilities throughout this area.