This volume analyzes sustainability-related innovations in the building sector and discusses
how regional contexts articulate transition trajectories toward green building. It presents
'biographies' of drivers and processes of green building innovation in four case studies:
Brisbane (AUS) Freiburg (GER) Luxembourg (LU) and Vancouver (CA). Two of them are relatively
well known for their initiatives to mitigate climate change - particularly in the building
sector whereas the other two have only recently become more active in promoting green
building. The volume places emphasis on development paths learning processes and innovations.
The focus of the case studies is not restricted to purely technological aspects but also
integrates regulatory procedural institutional and other processes and routines and their
influence on the variations of the building sector. The diversity of the selected case studies
offer the reader the opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of how sustainability
developments have unfolded in different city regions. Case study-specific catalogues of
transition paths provide insights to inform policy debates and planning processes. The
catalogues identify crucial innovations (technological regulatory etc.) and explain the
factors and circumstances that have led to their success and broader acceptance in Freiburg
Vancouver Luxembourg and Brisbane. With the help of a number of micro case studies within
each of the four city regions the case studies also offer ground for comparison and
identification of differences. The book represents the outcome of the GreenRegio project which
stands for 'Green building in regional strategies for sustainability: multi-actor governance
and innovative building technologies in Europe Australia and Canada.' GreenRegio is a 3-year
CORE-INTER research project funded by the National Research Fund Luxembourg (lead) and the
University of Cologne and this volume is co-authored by the project's principal investigators
and project coordinator.
