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The aim of the article is to determine the importance of green areas in the selected cities of south-eastern Poland, in the context of historical and cultural conditions and the resulting spatial characteristics of the cities. In course of the study three city centers were compared which represented the different types of a city - a historic city (Przemyśl), an industrial city (Stalowa Wola) and a developing city (Rzeszów). The way of urban greenery was organized and its specificity resulting from the city's origin and defined in the strategic documents, have been analyzed. The plans of the public greenery in the studied cities and their natural areas are prepared. The study showed significant differences in the layout of the greenery and their area in relation to the total area of the city. In the structure of the historic city, public green areas preserved some of the historical character of the centuries-old tradition and natural conditions that prevented from its over-urbanization. An example of an industrial city, founded from a scratch at the expense of the existing the Sandomierz Forest, surprises with the industrial structure still dominated by the pine forest. The development of the city was blocked by the outbreak of World War II when the dynamically growing center was stopped. The last example studied, the city developing rapidly, has the poorest public green areas. The city center is intensively urbanized and the outskirts of the newly-added villages are still agricultural. The city attempts to compensate modest area of urban greenery, with the attractive form of urban squares, green areas and areas adjacent to roads. The studied cities of the south-eastern Poland present different spatial types conditioned by cultural and natural factors. The individuality of these centers is underlined by the type and spatial layout of public greenery, which is still an important element of their spatial structure. Today, however, it is subject to strong urban pressure, threatening its condition and even existence, which is particularly confirmed by the example of Rzeszów - an innovative and intensively developing city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]