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• Cities need BGI to recover some of the environmental services that urbanisation has overtaken. • Building and maintaining BGI in public spaces is not enough; its governance is crucial, regardless of the context. • Government actors need to improve their leadership, coordination and continuity to co-create BGI projects in public spaces, regardless of the complexities this entails. • Overall, there is a need for more technical and economic resources in Mexico City, when compared to Valencia. • In Valencia and Mexico, actors require better understanding on the benefits of BGI. As cities confront more frequent floods, droughts, and heat waves, Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) has emerged as a nature-based approach that integrates water and vegetation systems to enhance urban resilience and social well-being. Yet governance barriers often limit its effectiveness. This paper examines the governance factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation of BGI in public spaces, using Mexico City and Valencia as case studies. Drawing on the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT), the study analyses twenty-nine interviews with governmental, professional, academic, and civil society actors to explore how governance factors influence BGI implementation and management. The findings reveal that strong political leadership, interdepartmental cooperation, and stable institutional frameworks are key to BGI. In Mexico City, fragmented responsibilities, scarce technical and financial resources, and limited civic engagement constrain long-term outcomes. In Valencia, established policy frameworks are weakened by inconsistent political commitment and maintenance funding gaps. The study confirms that effective BGI implementation depends less on technical capacity than on inclusive, well-coordinated governance supported by sustained political will, cross-sector collaboration, and mechanisms for public participation. Additionally, it demonstrates the value of CIT as an analytical tool for understanding the governance dynamics of climate adaptation in Ibero-American cities.