Public green space adaptation and real estate market dynamics: the politics of designing resilient and just green spaces

As climate resilience becomes central to urban planning, cities increasingly use urban greening to mitigate climate risks. Integrating nature into urban environments–especially through public green spaces–provides substantial environmental and health benefits. However, these interventions also reshape urban space and property values, often reinforcing socio-spatial inequalities by favouring affluent areas or displacing vulnerable communities. While scholars highlight the role of real estate dynamics in these processes, little is known about how local governments address them. This study examines how municipalities account for real estate market dynamics in the planning and management of green spaces, drawing on case studies from three Spanish cities: Bilbao, Valladolid, and Málaga. Using policy document analysis and interviews with urban planners and policymakers, we identify three key challenges to just urban greening: (1) siloed and reactive planning focused narrowly on redistributing green cover (organizational challenge); (2) funding models dependent on adjacent real estate development, tying green space provision to market dynamics (financial challenge); and (3) the alignment of greening initiatives with urban competitiveness agendas, often prioritizing economic gains over citizen well-being (strategic challenge). By situating urban greening within critical political ecology debates, this study highlights governance gaps undermining socially just climate adaptation and outlines pathways toward more equitable urban greening practices.