On the 16th and 23rd of April 2020 consultation workshops were organised for 8 Polish pilot cities working on their green roof strategies. The on-line events gave an opportunity to discuss in detail the overall structure and contents of the strategies proposed by Izabela Małachowska-Coqui, expert in the project, and then to think together what local support schemes could be implemented in different cities to promote green roofs and what should be their boundary conditions. Cities’ representatives also shared their reflections on the most important local challenges connected with climate change, as well as the role that the green roofs can play in tackling those challenges and ensuring better citizens’ comfort. Moreover, they exchange experiences from the works on strategies conducted so far.   

Since Polish pilot strategies are based on the Hamburg’s green roof strategy, it was proposed to follow the example and include there three fields of action, namely: support for public and private investors, local regulations and social dialogue. Considering this, during the workshop also following topics were discussed:

• exemplary provisions that may be included in local spatial development plans to encourage investors to construct green roofs;
• current opportunities for obtaining funds for projects and activities in the area of climate adaptation (which could be used e.g. to co-finance model projects or support other investors);
• conditions for applying for funding within potential local co-funding schemes;
• catalogue of stakeholders, who should be involved in the dialogue concerning development and promotion of green roofs.

During the workshop there was present the representative of the city of Hamburg, which implements green roof strategy already since 2014. Mrs Hanna Bornholdt, landscape architect responsible for strategy implementation, willingly shared her experiences with the participants. They also had an opportunity to get familiar with the opinions of other experts, who have analysed the initial version of the strategy template. These opinions were prepared by the representatives of the Polish Association of Green Roofs and the Polish Union of Developer Companies.