A: The Sustainable City -- 1 Concept of a Sustainable City -- 2 Institutional Regimes for Sustainable Urban Development -- 3 Methodological Framework for Urban Energy Policy Analysis -- B: Urban Sustainability and Technology Adoption -- 4 Key Issues in the Adoption of Renewable Energy Technologies -- 5 Irreversibilities and Indivisibilities of Renewable Energy Adoption Processes in a Monopolistic Market -- 6 Indivisibilities and Irreversibilities of Renewable Energy Adoption Processes: National Competition vs. Local Monopolistic Markets -- 7 Indivisibilities and Irreversibilities in Urban Renewable Energy Strategies: a Comparative Empirical Analysis -- C: Comparative Analysis of European Sustainable City Opportunities -- 8 Success Factors and Barriers of Urban Energy Policies: a Qualitative Analysis -- 9 A Comparative Empirical Analysis of Urban Energy Policies: a Meta-Analytic Approach -- 10 Success Factors and Barriers of Urban Energy Policies: Interdependencies among Different Critical Factors -- D: Conclusions: Policy Recommendations and Guidelines -- 11 Policy Recommendations and Guidelines for Renewable Energy Technologies in Cities -- References.

The aim of this book is to highlight the great potential of decentralized (i.e. local or urban) energy policies in achieving environmentally-benign developments for modern cities. Urban sustainability is placed in the context of the debate on global sustainable development. A wide array of policy initiatives is discussed and evaluated, ranging from market-based energy policies to technological innovation policies for the energy sector. A theoretical framework for technology adoption processes is developed and empirically tested. The main question addressed is: which are the critical success factors for successful urban energy policies? This question is also dealt with in a meta-analytic context by assessing and comparing the performance of energy policies in various European cities, with a particular view to renewable energy.