Urban green spaces may generate positive externalities in terms of environment, health and city attractiveness. However, the nature and intensity of benefits generated by urban green spaces may depend on their size, spatial distribution or intrinsic composition. Faced with a potentially complex and heterogeneous object, it is important for researchers and political decision-makers to have appropriate measures to evaluate the impact of urban green spaces on environmental, social or economic factors. Using the Corine Land Cover database for 75 European cities, we provide a typology relying on a Multiple Factor Analysis and a Hierarchical Ascendant Classification. We then use urban tree cover data (Street Tree Layer) to refine our characterisation of urban green spaces provision by considering the spatial distribution of tree areas, in addition to the land use profile. Our results show that in several European cities, agricultural areas and forestlands may highly contribute to the overall provision of urban green spaces. In such cities, the quality and evolution of green spaces may therefore easily be affected by individual trade-offs (farmers, foresters), independent of city policies. We also show how the heterogeneity of European cities’ profiles regarding urban green spaces provision may be explained by the type of green spaces and their spatial distribution, including abundance and fragmentation, in relation to the characteristics of the city. Relying on a robust, transparent and reproducible methodology, we provide a diverse set of indicators reflecting these dimensions in order to support urban planners and public deciders in their desire to develop urban space and enhance green spaces.