The article focuses on the beliefs of the regional political elites in Poland about the models of democracy, operationalised as opinions about political representation, direct democracy and elite integration. The empirical basis is a questionnaire survey of 400 members of regional political elites carried out in 2017. The sample consists of 400 councillors of the 2014-2018 term of regional (voivodship) assemblies and town councils of big cities. The data show that an incoherence of views characterises the regional political elite: they do not form a more general vision of the democratic process, and detailed opinions on representation, direct democracy and elite integration poorly correlate with independent variables, including those describing political affiliations, i.e. party affinity or location on the left-right scale. The primary explanation for this incoherent image is the thesis about the lack of professionalisation of the regional elite.
The Act of 11 January 2018 amending certain acts in order to increase participation of citizens in the process of selecting, functioning and controlling certain public bodies (Journal of Laws 2018, item 130) obliged all local government units to establish a citizens’ resolution initiative and to regulate the basic procedures related to the preparation and submission of applications by a resolution of their law-making body. The article analyses the implementation activities undertaken in cities with county rights. It indicates that before the entry into force of the Act, 55 cities out of 66 had already implemented such an arrangement, and, in their case, the Act helped unify the procedures. The article also points out that some cities did not implement these regulations before the beginning of the 8th term of office of local governments, and in several cases there were problems with the implementation, which prevented citizens from exercising their resolution initiative. The article presents the legal status as of 31 December 2019.
Planned large-scale animal farms are often the subject of protests by local communities due to the nuisance they generate. The active participation of local residents occurs at an early stage of the investment process, namely the proceedings for issuing an environmental decision, because it is at this stage that location and characteristics of the facility are determined. The article analyses 52 cases of proceedings to set the environmental conditions for the construction of animal farms in which there were documented protests of local residents. The aim of the paper is to determine the course of environmental proceedings for animal farms under the influence of residents’ protests, as well as to determine whether environmental conditions are eventually established. The statements of protesting residents are presented by means of references to the category of knowledge in decision-making (Glicken 1999, 2000; Edelenbos 2011). The study showed that despite the binding rule that public opposition cannot be the basis for refusing to set environmental conditions, the protesting residents indirectly influence the final, usually negative, result of the environmental impact assessment. By blocking the realisation of unwanted investments, they have a real impact on the shaping of the local space.
This paper addresses the changes in the demographic development of Ukraine in the last 125 years in quantitative parameters of demographic sustainability: alterations in population size, its gender and age structure, and natural and migration movement. Demographic sustainability is considered to be the capacity of a country’s or a region’s demography to preserve a consistent population size with optimal proportions between its age categories. Eight historical-demographic stages related to specific military-political and socio-economic events are outlined and analysed. Demographic catastrophes and crises in Ukraine were directly related to the aggression of totalitarian regimes. They occurred at the initial stages of demographic transition, so Ukraine was capable of restoring the population size, albeit with deeply disturbed demographic structures. The large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine increases the risk of the occurrence of a modern demographic catastrophe. Nowadays, the demographic sustainability of Ukraine cannot be achieved autonomously without the positive impact of external factors – the respective governmental demographic and socio-economic policies.
The article discusses the idea of co-production, understood as informed and intentional participation of citizens in the organisation and provision of public services in the context of the global ageing process, a phenomenon which necessitates actions aimed to secure the needs of older people. The basis for the empirical investigation was a study carried out under the aegis of a WHO agency, the Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan. It offers an analysis of the case studies of initiatives addressed to elderly people in the local communities of 10 selected developing countries (Chile, China, Iran, Libya, Russia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam). The key criterion in the selection of the analysed projects was direct involvement of institutional and non-institutional representatives of local communities in their implementation. As a participant (researcher) of this international survey, the author analyses the observable manifestations of silver co-production characterising the individual initiatives.
It is expected that people from all over the world will visit Ukraine after its victory in the war against Russian aggression, turning Ukraine into a world-popular tourist destination. Hence, Ukrainian egislation on tourism must be improved in the post-war period. The authors analysed the current legislation on tourism in Ukraine and identified major problems that must be addressed systematically and those that should be settled in the post-war period in view of the post-war humanitarian, socio-economic, institutional, and cultural challenges. In this context, the authors proposed a set of changes to improve Ukraine’s legislation on tourism on the national and institutional levels. Such changes should positively impact other socio-economic processes of reconstruction in post-war Ukraine.
The development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has caused numerous problems in traditional labour markets, occurring both at the national level and the level of individual regions of the country. However, breakthrough technologies of the recent decade have initiated new forms of labour organisation, mainly digital jobs and the formation of a digital labour market, which contributes to solving the problems mentioned above. The paper’s goal is to assess the readiness of the economy of Ukraine and its regions for forming a digital labour market to determine promising strategic directions for its development. The findings justify the significant prospects for developing the digital labour market in Ukraine at the national and regional levels. Also, they determine the priority types of digital jobs in selected regions as well as form the methodological basis, information, and analytical base of the organisational and economic mechanism for managing its development.
The purpose of the research presented in the article is to assess the effects of the 2015 amalgamation of the Zielona Góra city with the rural commune of the same name on the quality of local democracy. The second goal is to examine the phenomenon of free riding on the common pool in the context of the local-level territorial reform. The analysis, based on a quasi-experimental scheme using the synthetic control method, unlike previous studies, did not confirm the free riding hypothesis. The results of the study also indicate that the strategy implemented in Zielona Góra can be useful in achieving an intermediate political goal, which is to ensure the residents’ approval of the reform and legitimization of its results.
Academic research indicates that total or current expenditures have been most commonly used in sub-central or local government’s efficiency analysis as dependent variables, and a proxy for the cost of service provision. Our research applied in the case of Polish districts for 2019 and 2020 indicates two important results: firstly, regardless of whether total or current expenditures have been used, the determinants indicate the same direction of impact, and, secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic did not change the direction of the impact. The regression results confirm the positive direction that the administrative, educational, protection, and safety variables have on dependent variables.
The article examines the integration of the video game sector into regional innovation policy in Poland, using Greater Poland [Pol. Wielkopolska] as a case study. The analysis focuses on the relationship between the expansion of the game development (‘gamedev’) industry and the priorities of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS 2030). The mixed-method approach was employed, combining quantitative analysis (data on microenterprises, students, and graduates by ISCED fields) with qualitative research (a review of educational offerings and infrastructure supporting the sector). The study is complemented by a content analysis of the RIS strategy and the mapping of potential links between the video game sector and the existing regional specialisations. The findings reveal the presence of a well-developed yet spatially concentrated gamedev ecosystem in the region, alongside its absence from formal innovation policy frameworks. The article concludes with proposed integration scenarios and recommendations for future directions of support for the video game sector within the RIS.
The article presents statistical data on ‘rookie councillors’ of the provincial assemblies [Pol. sejmiki] of the seventh term (2024–2029). The authors, by means of a statistical analysis of the election results, point to the factors enabling one to win a seat as a regional assembly councillor for the first time. Three groups of councillors were analysed: promoted debutantes, demoted debutantes and debutantes with no political experience. The analysis shows the scale of the phenomenon of debutant councillors and their situation on electoral lists as well as the preferences of the electorate directed towards the group under scrutiny.
This paper attempts to diagnose the attitudes of municipal office employees toward civic participation and assess selected outcomes of participatory budgeting (PB) in the six largest Polish cities between 2014 and 2023. The analysis is based on empirical research, including surveys, in-depth interviews, and secondary data analysis. The findings reveal an institutional perspective and indicate the presence of two dominant approaches among public officials, namely an affirmative and a critical one. The article also discusses both the direct and indirect effects of PB – educational, social, political, and redistributive. In cities where the affirmative approach prevails (Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk, and Łódź), higher educational and political outcomes were more frequently observed. In contrast, in Warsaw and Kraków, where the critical approach dominates, lower educational and political outcomes were more commonly noted, along with relatively stronger redistributive effects. The results further suggest that participatory budgeting can serve as an effective tool for municipal administrations in identifying residents’ needs, although its capacity to meet those needs remains limited.
The article reveals topical issues regarding the consequences, possibilities of operation, and the restoration of tourism in the post-war territories of Ukraine in the conditions of military aggression of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the study was to analyse the organisation of tourist activities under the conditions of martial law in Ukraine. The article highlights preliminary data on the losses of the tourism industry in Ukraine as well as analyses and systematises specific examples of damaged natural and cultural-historical heritage on the territory of Ukraine. The peculiarities of the functioning of the subjects of the tourism industry in the conditions of the war in Ukraine are evaluated and the essence of the post-war territories is indicated. Directions for saving tourist activity in the post-war territories of Ukraine as a result of the military actions of the aggressor country are proposed. The proposals indicated in this work will be useful to all Ukrainian communities whose tourism industry has suffered great losses as a result of the military aggression. It will also be useful for representatives of the tourism industry of other countries who want to prevent, if possible, the destructive effects of war.
The aim of the article is to present the communication by public transport of the towns located within the boundaries of the Municipal Functional Area of Słupsk–Ustka (MOF S–U) with the core cities (Słupsk and Ustka) and to indicate the areas where the phenomenon of transport exclusion may occur. The public transportation network in the area does not meet the needs directed by the residents to local authority decision-makers, which may limit their ability to get around, especially on weekends. During the study, the literature on the subject, documents at local and regional levels, and data contained in timetables were analysed as well as the GIS visualisations were used. Insufficient communication with public transport in the area results in limited transport accessibility and, consequently, may lead to transport exclusion.
The article will consider various approaches to defining the essence of cultural and ethnic tourism, and analyse the important aspects of the proposed approaches. The importance of preserving cultural heritage at the level of international organisations is emphasised. The policy of the European Union regarding cultural and ethnic tourism is characterised. The distribution of museums by profile and regions in Ukraine in 2021 is presented. The losses suffered by museums during the military invasion of Russia into Ukraine were assessed. The SWOT analysis was performed to determine the directions of the development of cultural and ethnic tourism of Ukraine in the post-war period. Strategic directions for the development of cultural and ethnic tourism in Ukraine are proposed. Models of state regulation of the sphere of cultural and ethnic tourism are analysed. A set of tools is proposed that will ensure the effectiveness of the functioning of cultural and ethnic tourism. Open-air museums are characterised as a way of preserving tangible and intangible heritage. The distribution of open-air museums by regions of Ukraine has been made. It is proposed that tasks be solved for the full use of open-air museums in the field of cultural and ethnic tourism in Ukraine, taking into account the task of protecting cultural heritage objects from destruction during martial law.
Evaluation is an important element of the public policy cycle, providing information for improving the effectiveness of implemented policies and designing future ones. In Poland, the need for the diffusion of this practice from the field of structural funds to other public policy fields has been discussed for at least 15 years. Although one such obvious direction of diffusion is local government, very little is known about evaluation at this level, and in studies summarising the general evaluation practice in Poland, this strand is omitted. The aim of this study was to assess the extent and characteristics of evaluation practices in the period 2010–2021 in cities with county [Pol. powiat] status. The analysis was based on the information on evaluation studies provided by city halls. Out of the 55 cities that were included in the analysis, 62% carried out evaluations and they completed a total of 469 studies. A systematic increase in the number of studies and the number of cities carrying them out was also observed. The dominant thematic areas were civic budgeting, social policy, and development strategy. The shares of studies carried out internally and those commissioned from external companies turned out to be similar. In contrast, studies of intervention implementation processes dominate over evaluations of intervention effects. This research can serve as a starting point for further, more detailed analyses of the organisation of the evaluation process and its use in local government.
The research analyses a range of analytical materials of Ukrainian and international experts in business, economy, finance, etc., and the data of sociological surveys of the representatives of Ukrainian businesses regarding the entrepreneurship development trends in Ukraine in conditions of martial law. The analysis of these resources has revealed a substantial negative impact of the war on the export of goods and services from Ukraine, the falling sales volumes, the reducing staff of enterprises, problems with labour remuneration, and the preservation of panic in the business environment. However, there is a substantial risk that the hostilities do not end in the short run. Therefore, the authors analyse the opportunities for the creation of a specific business environment in Ukraine under martial law with the view to develop a policy directed at securing economic resilience as well as the maintenance of the country’s economic capacity. The risks and threats of doing business in Ukraine in the context of adopted amendments to legislation in conditions of war are examined. The priority steps for the elimination of possible threats of falling business activity are outlined.
The article studies determinants influencing the socially-vulnerable population of Ukraine in the period of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The research encompasses three directions: first, the study of the current number of socially vulnerable groups of the population within the boundaries of the Carpathian area; second, the study and analysis of the determinants influencing the number of socially-vulnerable groups of the population; third, the investigation of the degree of the determinants’ impact on the number of the socially-vulnerable population within the Carpathian area. The authors of the work have shaped five groups of determinants influencing socially-vulnerable population, namely national, administrative, economic, demographic, and social ones. The research confirms that before the war started in Ukraine, the number of socially-vulnerable population had been reducing both in the country and within the Carpathian area. In particular, in 2001–2021, the number of vulnerable groups of the population reduced by 23% in Ukraine, in the Chernivtsi region – by 24.5%, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region – by 10%, in the Transcarpathian region – by 8.6%, and in the Lviv region – by 6.1%. The situation has changed since the war started. Based on the conducted calculations, it is determined that the greatest impact on the socially-vulnerable population is created by the national and economic determinants, whilst the smallest one – by the demographic determinants, whereas the last ones depend on the geographic position of the region. It is also confirmed by calculations of the radar of determinants influencing socially-vulnerable population. During the Russo-Ukrainian War, the greatest impact of the determinants on socially-vulnerable population is marked in the Lviv region.
The article is devoted to determining the specifics of war injuries among people of various ages living in the deoccupied Kyiv and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine. The purpose of the research is to determine the residents’ traumatic experience in the de-occupied territories of Ukraine caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war. The direct effects of PTSD concern intimate relationships such as marriage, social interactions, decreased productivity, and decreased resilience. This study shows that PTSD symptoms are more common for respondents over fifty years of age, who have deficit of social resources. It has been proven that the severity of PTSD symptoms in the residents of the deoccupied Kharkiv region is statistically significantly lower than the symptoms of the residents of the de-occupied Kyiv region, which is due to the longer occupation and more pronounced joy from liberation. Therefore, the appearance of PTSD symptoms in a more delayed period is likely.
Human resource management (HRM) studies have been continuously developed to serve as a reference for enhancing the quality of public services. This includes the case in local government where it is important to have highly competent resources, because civil service personnel are the door that deals directly with local communities. Using bibliometrics and analysing previous research coherently, this study focuses on identifying the development of HRM discussions on local governance at the global level, both in developed and developing countries. As a result, although in general, the topics raised included managerial and personnel issues. There are certain issues raised by developed countries, such as innovation to contemporary social issues. Meanwhile, in developing countries discussed challenges faced by local governments in managing their resources. This study contributes to the development of HRM concern-mapping in local government globally and can be used as a reference for increasing the capacity of human resource management in local government.
Since the very beginning of their establishment, municipalities, counties and regions (voivodeships) have been struggling with financial problems. Unfortunately, these problems affect the performance of the tasks assigned to these administrative units, including the standard of provided services and investment activities. Although extensive, the scale of the unsatisfied needs in LGUs varies between individual units, including municipalities. Thus, the positive financial results (the balance at the closure of the fiscal year) achieved by local government units in Poland in the recent years, as well as their future, offer an intriguing topic of research. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes that: 1) underpin the re-evaluation of the LGU goals (from the implementation of the local government mission to achieving a budget surplus), and 2) allow the positive result of the LGU budget to finance goals other than investment-related ones. In order to achieve this, the study covers and illustrates, using the empirical data from the years 2007-2016, the types of possible LGU budget results, LGU activities that could contribute to the closure to LGU budgets with a positive result, directions of using budget surpluses and the so-called uncommitted funds, as well as local governments’ debt in terms of the intergenerational solidarity concept of its repayment and its perceived optimal structure.
Several theories of regional development (e.g. new economic geography) claim positive relationship between administrative status of capital cities and their economic and population growth. Availability of capital goods as well as direct and indirect demand generated by administrative institutions are among factors which accelerate development. However, most of empirical studies so far have concentrated either on national capitals or on federal states. In our article we conduct empirical tests comparing the impact of reforms implemented in 1975 and 1999 in Poland on the development of cities gaining or losing their regional capital functions. On the basis of those results the article indicates differences in impacts of both reforms and attempts to explain those differences.
This paper examines the impact of the implementation of participatory budget (PB) projects on the development and creation of public spaces in the city. The first part of the paper describes the main assumptions and models of participatory budgeting as well as the legal basis and rules of PB implementation and financing in Poland. In the second part, those are confronted with the implementation of PB (civic and green) in Lublin in 2015-2019. In the third one, detailed analysis of the PB rounds 2015-2017 show that 86% of investment projects submitted and 87% of projects selected for implementation were directly associated with activities in public space. Furthermore, the spatial distribution and thematic scope of those investments in 27 districts of Lublin in relation to 10 categories selected by the authors as well as the motivation and activity of residents of individual districts in applying for projects were presented. The fourth part shows the changes in Lublin’s public spaces caused by the implementation of PB projects and Lublin’s experience in relation to other cities in Poland. The summary includes recommendations on how to effectively implement BP to create a high quality public space in cities. Three aspects are distinguished: 1) organizational and procedural; 2) mobilisation of the stakeholders and 3) implementation of projects.
The military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which started in 2014 and came to another active phase in February 2022, may change Ukraine’s foreign trade in terms of both its geography and product structure. The regions of Ukraine will not only have to recover from the consequences of destruction, but also to seek new directions of foreign economic activity and build connections with reliable partners such as the European Union and the United States. The paper presents an analysis of changes in the foreign trade of Ukraine and its regions since 2014 and examines shifts in trade flows in the direction of Western leaders of global trade. The case of Georgia, another target of Russian military intervention, in the reorientation of its trade flows, is also considered.
The results of this study substantiate and compare the trends observed in the global labour market and the corresponding trends in the Ukrainian labour market in 2017–2022. With regard to the annual trend specification, this study has established the extent to which the Ukrainian labour market participants focus on the key areas of its development and has identified the problematic aspects that hinder the socio-economic recovery of the country. These findings have important implications for substantiating the course for the strategic development of the Ukrainian labour market, which should form the base for enhancing both life quality for the population and the socio-economic growth of the country.
The paper aims to identify the scope and propose a systematisation of the contemporary redefinition of regional development factors, influenced by global conditions. The research process comprised three stages: (1) a brief review of the theoretical foundations and changes in the understanding of regional development factors; (2) presentation of the findings relating to the directions and impact of contemporary socio-economic megatrends on changes of regional development factors, and (3) the main body of the analysis, which identifies and describes the nature of changes in the perception of regional development factors as a consequence of contemporary global conditions.
Current glocalisation processes require the identification of priority areas for Ukraine’s further integration into the international economy. The right choice of direction, tools and forms of implementation allows the government to determine, justify and implement a competitive strategy for the country. The study aimed to determine the relationship between international economic integration and Ukraine’s global competitive power. Identifying Ukraine’s sectoral comparative advantages in trade with the EU and evaluating the index of the regional orientation of Ukraine for specific groups of goods and services made it possible to define the effects of economic collaboration with the European region. The assessment of the complementarity index of Ukrainian–European trade relations revealed that Ukraine and the European Union are main trading partners. Furthermore, the analysis of the mechanism of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union proved that the agreement actively contributes to the growth of Ukraine’s global competitive power. Comparative analysis in historical retrospect revealed priority areas for improving the integration processes which help to form the main competitive advantages of the country.
Postindustrial agglomerations struggling with image deficits and environmental problems are looking for new development paths to take. One of these paths can bring about the development of business tourism, including the industry of the organisation of meetings and events. The unique and attractive character of the place can favour taking such a direction. The business tourism sector can therefore become an instrument contributing to the sustainable metropolisation of the city by building up its position in the global network of flows. The development of the meetings and events sector allows, therefore, for a change of image, for a re-evaluation of endogenous resources, including those relating to the industrial past, and for tapping into the unlimited resources of the global network. Increased attention in this network may lead to an influx of more events, and of investors as well. Replacing heavy industry with an enlarged service sector and modern industry based on flexible and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises fosters sustainable development. The meetings and events industry can become a tool for sustainable development and the promotion of its ideas, related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The trajectory outlined above seems very promising. However, to some extent, it is just a hypothesis. The author undertakes to test it on the example of Katowice, a former industrial city which has decided to follow the route outlined above to become a city that hosts many events, including the COP24 summit in 2018. In the article, the author presents empirical research studies whose authors tried to determine whether the path the city has chosen has a real impact on its image and development. The author also deals with the question of the sustainability of such a development path and the conditions for its self-support in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
The article analyzes the problem of delays in the preparation of local spatial development plans in Polish communes. Data from the annual survey sent to local governments and carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology and the Statistics Poland were used. On this basis, the categories of communes in which there is highly possible to identify occurring of planning works prolongation (referred to in the article as delays in drawing up plans), as well as its reasons, were identified. No territorial differentiation in this scope was found. The basic differentiation is related to the population of communes, i.e. the larger the commune in this respect, the greater the delays are. The interviews obtained from 16 communes (at 68 over 50,000 inhabitants, where the highest number of delays in preparing plans was identified) show that the main reasons for delays include problems related to public consultations and arrangements of draft plans, changing legal regulations, and staff shortages in commune offices. The article shows how these issues are related to the broader problems of the Polish spatial planning system. Further research directions were also proposed.
This paper examines the role of educational support in social entrepreneurship development in Poland and Ukraine based on comparative case studies and a computer-assisted web interviewing method. The research investigates cross-country and cross-institutional differences in education concerning social entrepreneurship. The paper considers the different levels of social entrepreneurship education in primary and secondary school, university, and non-formal education. It is established that students at all levels of education should have an entrepreneurial mindset, which is a prerequisite for sustainable development. The key directions for developing education regarding social entrepreneurship in Ukraine are identified.
The paper provides a comparative analysis of so-called land management and spatial development studies of the biggest Polish cities regarding the scope of functional and morphological delimitation and zoning. Due to the lack of detailed regulations, individual cities developed their own zoning methodologies. The authors of such studies take into account three factors: functional, morphological and administrative aspects. The zoning in the analysed cities is determined by individual factors which vary from city to city.
The main goal of the article was to verify gains and losses coming from participating in the global economy in the light of the core–periphery theory. It turned out to be undeniably true that transfers of industrial production to peripheral countries lead to higher living standards and indirectly favour political stability in core countries, while the hypothesis that the global financial market is a tool for exploitation of peripheral countries was proved to be false. The author established that financial speculations in core countries cause political destabilization in peripheral countries, and disproved the hypothesis that the higher the participation of periphery countries in the global economy, the higher the losses they suffer and the higher the advantages in core countries.
The authors have suggested analytical tools to evaluate levels of internal social responsibility by developing an aggregate set of indicators. The reference indicators values were substantiated on the basis of average industry ones, which provided an opportunity to determine the multiple coefficients. The suggested tools provide the opportunity to define enterprises’ tendency for change in the level of responsibility level by years. This research can have important practical impacts due to its quantitative assessment having been based on published financial statements. The study creates additional opportunities for stakeholders to evaluate current internal corporate social responsibility levels and predict their own development direction.
This article examines the potential risks of permanent population loss in Ukraine on account of Russian military actions dating back to 2014, which has hindered the ability of the stronghold territorial communities to recover. It outlines the context of displacement in Ukraine over the past eight years, assesses displaced people’s direct needs and considers both national and local policies to meet them. Finally, it forecasts factors that will impact the reluctance of displaced persons to return to the stronghold territories and details the necessary national and local responses.
The work has two goals: 1) to identify the dominant charges in complaints to administrative courts regarding land use plans for municipalities (gminy), to assess their legitimacy and effectiveness, and to classify the complainants; 2) to show that the court rulings are related to the diversity of municipalities, i.e., their character (morphology, social and economic functions, etc.) and characteristics of socio-economic development. All the judgments of voivodship (regional) administrative courts issued in 2010–2019 concerning complaints about municipal plans were analysed (531). The problem turns out to be the undefined scope of such plans, which, however, does not affect the extent to which these instruments are challenged by property owners. A high concentration of complaints in the regional capitals and their suburban areas is also demonstrated.
Municipal authorities are expected to play a central role in urban climate change adaptation, using urban assets and engaging local stakeholders through both direct command-and-control measures and indirect approaches such as delegation, and civic participation. However, the public responsibility dimension of the mixed governance mode is not yet specified clearly. This article addresses the gap by analysing how a combination of direct and indirect governance approaches can shape the scope and distribution of public responsibility. This is illustrated by comparing actions in urban adaptation plans and recommendations from climate citizen panels. The findings demonstrate that a mixed governance approach is an emerging mode of urban climate governance. However, its configuration varies between official plans and panel recommendations, particularly with regard to the scope of city-led actions and the involvement of other entities.