This article provides a review of the literature on the use of green (or natural) infrastructures (GIs) as a means of adapting to climate change, using runoff and flood management as examples. An analysis of case studies assesses the potential of GIs to serve as alternatives to methods based on conventional grey infrastructures. Urban planning approaches that integrate GIs, recognise and value ecosystem services as a means of improving urban resilience and adaptation to climate change. The ultimate objective of this approach is to find sustainable and effective solutions to modified climatic conditions. This article proposes a conceptual framework to evaluate the potential of GIs and the feasibility of putting them into practice, and a case study review of the implementation of GIs in terms of their cost-effectiveness, resilience and capacity to reconcile often divergent social, economic and environmental interests is presented.