Urban green infrastructure is becoming established as a tool for addressing climate adaptation, biodiversity loss and improving well-being in European cities. However, translating these ambitions into viable projects continues to present challenges: complex funding procedures, limited technical capacity, insufficient coordination between departments and a lack of resources for long-term maintenance.

The Greening Cities Partnership guide proposes combining planning, governance and financial innovation to overcome these barriers. Cases from Budapest, Gdańsk, Utrecht and Prato demonstrate different ways of complementing public funding through donations, collaboration with public utilities, developer contributions and crowdfunding.

The document also highlights the importance of integrating green infrastructure into urban planning and considering its maintenance costs from the design stage. The aim is to move from isolated interventions towards stable, coordinated strategies capable of sustaining their environmental and social benefits over the long term.