GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AS UNDERSTOOD BY STAKEHOLDERS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED TOWNS IN POLAND
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AS UNDERSTOOD BY STAKEHOLDERS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED TOWNS IN POLAND

Summary/Abstract: Motives: In urban governance processes involving local communities, green infrastructure (GI)is an important proxy for the local quality of life. In this paper, the authors focus on GI in smalland medium-sized Polish towns, which attracts much less research interest than that in large cities.The study covered 97 towns, and it included desk research and a questionnaire survey of localauthorities and NGOs.Aim: The aim of the study was to determine whether residents are involved in the managementof urban GI, whether local authorities and communities have identified the need to develop new GI,and whether they are taking appropriate measures to maintain and preserve the existing GI resources.Another objective was to examine the priority of existing GI resources in governance policies.Results: The levels of citizen participation and GI management in small and medium-sized towns wereranked. The general observation is that green spaces are not an effective participation tool in smalltowns. The situation has gradually improved in medium-sized cities and towns within metropolitanregions, but this does not seem to be a determining factor.

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