Adaptation to climate change is becoming one of the main paradigms for how cities function and develop. The significant role of green infrastructure (GI) as a tool for cities to adapt to climate change is increasingly emphasized among practitioners of spatial planning and in the research literature. Thus, despite the local impact, green infrastructure planning necessitates the creation of a holistic and integrated city management system. The aim of the article is to identify the effects generated by projects implemented in the field of green infrastructure in big cities of post-industrial regions and to formulate determinants and barriers limiting the strengthening of cities’ adaptive capacity to climate change. In the methodological dimension, the article is based on the desk-research method (analysis of project documentation and specialist literature), logical reasoning and the case study method, enriched with a series of interviews and observation of the study area to present the selected projects implemented as part of green infrastructure. Solutions based on nature, green infrastructure and the adaptation of ecosystems are of strategic importance for the challenges of reducing the negative effects of urban heat islands and the risk of flooding, rational space management, regeneration of degraded urban spaces, the coexistence of urban and green space and, consequently, increasing housing, as well as cultural and recreation areas. This is especially true of post-industrial regions, such as the Katowice Conurbation in Poland, to which the examples presented here refer.

This article evaluates the effectiveness of Poland’s current mine closure model in promoting the sustainable reuse of post-mining land, particularly in urbanised regions such as the Upper Silesian–Zagłębie Metropolis. A mixed-methods approach is applied, combining archival and cartographic analysis, field surveys, and a comparative policy review. The study examines 81 post-mining areas associated with 20 decommissioned coal mines. Two dominant transformation models are identified: planned redevelopment guided by public–private strategies, and unplanned, market-driven reuse based on opportunistic adaptation. While the system ensures technical and environmental safety via the Mine Restructuring Company (SRK S.A.), it remains weakly integrated with spatial planning policies and often marginalises key stakeholders. This leads to fragmented land reuse, underinvestment, and misalignment with sustainability objectives. A comparative review of models from Germany, the UK, and the Czech Republic highlights the importance of institutional coordination, strategic planning tools, and community involvement. The article concludes with policy recommendations to enhance governance, planning coherence, and social inclusion in post-mining transformation processes in Poland.

In the modern world, the subject of spatial planning is being increasingly raised by residents of municipalities - mainly because of the lack of a direct influence on the process of local development and aesthetics of the surroundings. Today, the primary objective of spatial planning is not only to form a proper connection between function and space but also to balance public and private interests. Constantly developed geographic spatial information systems allow not only for easy navigation around the city, but more importantly for more advanced analyses, such as the recognition of the current trends in estate development, communication systems, changes in agricultural and forest areas. The main objective of the research is to define functional-spatial links determined by social-economic needs reflected in local plans and to verify the similarities between local plans, that were drawn up in three different periods (PRL, the transition period, and in accordance with nowadays applicable laws), how the changing economic, social goals and current needs of the city affected the continuation of the adopted solutions. The study shows that despite changes in the law and abandoning the idea of industrial city, in which the landscape is dominated by blast furnaces and mine shafts, the basic trend has been maintained and local plans prepared in subsequent years form a continuum, and despite the different scales of development are closely linked. At the same time it has been shown that modern GIS tools enable verification of the continuity of spatial policy of the municipality.

The primary research focus of this book is the development of post-mining areas, a complex challenge due to the scale and intricacy of the phenomenon. This issue is inherently interdisciplinary, as the effective revitalization of post-mining areas requires expertise in technical, economic, and social reclamation, all considered within a spatial perspective. Although this topic has been explored in numerous studies and research projects across Europe and in Poland, it remains relevant, presenting opportunities for new cognitive and practical approaches. The objective of this publication is to explore the adaptation of succession theory to research on changes in the use of post-mining areas. Such areas have the potential to become valuable resources for creating new economic, social, and environmental functions within the urban spaces of Silesian cities.