The present volume represents a unique contribution to its field. First of all, because it is the result of a common research effort by members of different European institutions of higher education, working together under the umbrella of the European Campus of City Universities Project (EC2U). The project brings together, with the goal of creating an integrated academic community, the Universities of Coimbra in Portugal, Ia?i in Romania, Jena in Germany, Pavia in Italy, Poitiers in France, Salamanca in Spain, and Turku in Finland. Secondly, the volume represents a special contribution because its authors, scholars of renown from different academic institutions across the European continent, contribute to the construction of a multidisciplinary and integrated concept of sustainability from the perspective of the social sciences. In this way, disciplines such as law, political science, economics, geography and sociology are combined, in order to develop the projection and meaning that the concept of sustainability can embody across the whole range of social science studies. Among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, number eleven corresponds to Sustainable Cities and Communities, and it specifically refers to the need to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Throughout this book, some of the key factors for achieving these objectives are discussed from the point of view of the human and social sciences, under a European theoretical framework.

PREFACE: CITIES AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS EUROPE: GOVERNANCE DESIGN FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE / JUAN JOSÉ RASTROLLO SUÁREZ

1. ENERGY TRANSITION AND INVESTMENT PROTECTION: THE EUROPEAN UNION BEFORE THE ENERGY CHARTER TREATY / MIGUEL ÁNGEL ANDRÉS LLAMAS

2. BEYOND THE HUMAN RIGHT TO A HOME: THE RIGHT TO A HABITAT (RESTORATION OF URBAN ECOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO DELIVER URBAN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES) / ALEXANDRA ARAG O

3. SUSTAINABILITY AND AGRICULTURE. A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE / IOANA MARIA COSTEA. MARIA LAIU

4. FLEXIBILITY IN URBAN PLANNING: RULES, OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITS / ROBERTO DE LOTTO

5. THE WORLD ON THE BRINK: WAYS OUT OF THE PINCER CRISIS / KLAUS DÖRRE

6. THE PRIVATE PROPERTY QUALIFIED AS CULTURAL HERITAGE: THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN ITALY AND THE SUSTAINABLE ENFORCES THROUGH THE RETROFIT POLICY / ANNY FALC O SCHWENDLER

7. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY. ISSUES OF LEGITIMACY AND IMPLEMENTATION / AGUSTÍN E. FERRARO

8. PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH URBAN LAND USE LAW AND POLICY IN FINLAND / MARTTI HÄKKÄNEN

9. PUBLIC SAFETY AND JUSTICE IN THE CITY. LEGAL REGULATIONS OF URBAN SECURITY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION / JUAN JOSÉ RASTROLLO SUÁREZ

10. TOWARDS GREEN AND PRODUCTIVE CITIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. SUSTAINABILITY, URBAN PLANNING, AND THE ENVIRONMENT / JUAN JOSÉ RASTROLLO SUÁREZ

11. THE FRENCH-STYLE SUSTAINABLE CITY THROUGH THE SMART CITY: NEW URBAN MODEL / ISABELLE SAVARIT-BOURGEOIS

12. SUSTAINABILITY AND PUBLIC PROCUREMENT / DANIEL TERRÓN SANTOS