This EPSRC-funded project is being led from UCL and involves a consortium of six universities. It builds on the work for the government Foresight project on Sustainable Energy Management and the Built Environment. The project combines two methodologies: the quantification and development of scenarios from the Foresight project; and case studies from the UK and abroad of urban energy initiatives. The aim of the project is to combine these two approaches to deliver a better understanding of how lock-in to centralisation may be challenged by urban energy initiatives in generation and demand management, and the impact of such a challenge on energy patterns and carbon emissions.