There are nice string of parks along the lake, but the loop area as a whole constantly sacrifices nice outdoor space in exchange for a bit more driving room. That’s starting to change but we’re still a long way away from a European style city center.
You're talking about Europe as if it's one city, like Chicago is. There are upwards of 30 countries on the European continent, a subset of which are in the European Union. They certainly have more than one city between themselves; some even have many cities!
There are nice string of parks along the lake, but the loop area as a whole constantly sacrifices nice outdoor space in exchange for a bit more driving room. That’s starting to change but we’re still a long way away from a European style city center.