Barriers in the green infrastructure governance in small and medium-sized cities in Poland

The objective of this article was to identify barriers to the green infrastructure governance (GI) of small and medium-sized cities in Poland. The GI governance models and barriers to the effective implementation of the GI concept in the development policy of cities were identified on the basis of literature studies. The identified barriers were subject to assessment in the context of their validity. Online forms were used to address experts and representatives of 20 cities. Furthermore, barrier-related questions were included as an element in the online focus group research and structured interviews. The research results indicate that the GI governance barriers are not assessed unequivocally in terms of their validity. The cities clearly emphasise a problem with the lack of awareness and involvement of inhabitants, limitations in financing investments, and lack of attention to the GI conceptualisation (project team) and GI governance methods (experts).