The climate crisis has placed cities at the forefront of the energy transition. In a context of increasing vulnerability—shaped by dependence on fossil fuels, volatility in the energy market, and the European Union’s decarbonization targets—urban areas must redefine their relationship with energy. In Spain and Portugal, located in Southern Europe, climatic conditions, urban development patterns and socio-spatial inequalities strongly influence the challenges associated with the transition to more sustainable energy systems. 

This book’s distinctive multi-scalar approach connects processes occurring within cities with broader territorial transformations unfolding across metropolitan regions and rural hinterlands. Within this framework, two key scales help explain the complex relationship between energy and the city. At the micro scale, this edited volume examines energy management within the consolidated urban fabric, addressing issues such as energy efficiency, building retrofitting, climate adaptation, urban comfort, and the opportunities offered by energy communities and both individual and collective self-consumption systems. Attention is paid to vulnerable neighborhoods and districts. At the macro scale, the book explores urban sprawl and the metropolitan restructuring of functional urban areas through changing land uses, evolving urban-rural relationships, emerging territorial functions, and landscape transformations. Both scales are analysed within the broader regulatory and policy framework shaping the energy transition.

Case studies from Spain and Portugal illustrate dynamics operating at micro and macro levels, ranging from the implementation of individual and collective self-consumption systems and energy communities to the integration of renewable energy facilities in metropolitan areas. The chapters in this book address not only the opportunities associated with the transition, but also the tensions it generates, including land-use conflicts, landscape impacts, energy poverty, climate vulnerability, social mobilisation and emerging forms of territorial inequality. Contributions examine the strategies adopted by some municipalities to reconcile heritage conservation with decentralised energy production, as well as the planning challenges arising from the large-scale deployment of renewable 

Belén Pérez Pérez is an Assistant Professor of Geography and researcher in the Institute of Regional Development at the University of Granada, Spain. She is the author of more than 50 scientific publications, including articles published in leading international journals such as Journal of Cleaner Production and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, as well as book chapters published by Springer and Routledge. She has participated as a researcher in numerous national and international research projects and has undertaken research and teaching stays in the United States, France, Austria, Portugal, Mexico, and Brazil. She also has over a decade of experience in consultancy on territorial and spatial planning and continues to collaborate with public institutions on research projects and knowledge. Her main research areas include territorial planning for the energy transition and its effects on urban and territorial fragmentation, socio-spatial inequalities, and energy access transfer activities.

María del Pilar Díaz-Cuevas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Geography and Regional Geographic Analysis at the University of Seville, Spain. Her research focuses on territorial planning for the energy transition, renewable energy deployment, geospatial technologies (Geographical Information Systems, web-based geovisors, and collaborative mapping tools), spatial decision support, and territorial justice. She has led and participated in several national and international research projects and is currently principal investigator of RЄSERT, the Spanish Research Network on Renewable Energy and Spatial Planning. She has published extensively in leading international journals on renewable energy planning, geospatial analysis, and collaborative mapping. She collaborates with multidisciplinary research teams and public administrations to develop evidence-based territorial planning tools supporting sustainable decision-making and is committed to transferring scientific knowledge through applied research, innovative geospatial technologies, and collaborative mapping initiatives.

Jesús M. González-Pérez is a Full Professor of Geography at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Spain. Director of the Chair of Urban Studies (UIB, 2023–2024) and President of the Spanish Geographical Association (2021–25). Guest Speaker in a Special Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13, 2026) of UN-Habitat. Visiting Professor at more than 20 universities, including Visiting Scholar (2015) and Tinker Visiting Professor (2016) at Stanford University. At Springer, Advisory Editor of “The Urban Book Series” and Editorial Board member of “City Development. Issues and Best Practices”. Author of more than 200 scientific publications and principal investigator or team member in 24 funded research projects. He has extensive experience as a reviewer and evaluator for Spanish and international research funding agencies. His main research areas include housing, urban fragmentation, gentrification, energy and the city, focusing primarily on Europe, the United States, and Latin America and the Caribbean.