Abstract
Across European cities, the use of urban green spaces is highly controversial and subject to diverging interests, yielding a high conflict potential. Ecological resilience and further ecological and social outcomes of the resource system green spaces are endangered by a persisting economic growth logic manifesting itself in ongoing city over-mineralization and urban sprawl due to infrastructure and development pressure, often linked to scarce public resources. Yet, preserving the availability of bio-diverse green spaces is crucial for the socio-ecological transition of cities. Against this background, this research focuses on social innovative civil society dynamics on the grassroots level and on citizen participation in the governance of green spaces in several European cities, asking for the role of civil society actors in the post-growth debate, examining their position vis-à vis state and market players and exploring their activities’ impacts on the local level.