Climate-Friendly Cities. A Handbook on the Tasks and Possibilities of European Cities in Relation to Climate Change 347 knowledge for the Reader. Although some of the empirical studies were made several years ago, those former statistics do not interfere with the processability of the topics and the making of conclusions. The knowledge collected by the book is useful both in practice and in the academic area and it could be a great starting point for tourism managers, tourism educators, college and university students interested in the fi eld of tourism. Noémi Kulcsár Salamin, G., Kohán, Z., Dobozi, E. and Péti, M. eds.: Climate-Friendly Cities. A Handbook on the Tasks and Possibilities of European Cities in Relation to Climate Change. VÁTI, Budapest, 2011, 268 p. This handbook was published within the framework of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and geographers working both in human and physical geography can use it as a major source of knowledge in the fi eld. Cities are not only the major challenge, but also the possible solution to climate change. According to estima- tions, cities use about two-thirds of the fi nal energy demand and generate up to 70 percent of all CO2 emissions. To reduce these shares and combat the negative effects of climate change is a great challenge. The handbook is more than timely. With the Europe 2020 strategy, the European Union has set itself the ambitious goal of recovering European economy and tackling challenges like climate change and grow- ing energy consumption at the same time. There is a solid link between cities and Europe 2020, because cities are the driving forces of economic growth, and it is also in urban areas where a great potential for energy saving lies. Green businesses and eco- innovation can create new jobs and reduce CO2-emissions at the same time. Investment in eco-ef- fi cient urban infrastructures ena- 348 bles these businesses to grow and proved jobs for more and more people. Climate change and related urban responses have become part of the European policy making by now. This is refl ected by a range of policy-relevant documents like the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities, adopted in 2007, or the Toledo Declaration, adopted in 2010. These docu- ments draw the att ention to the possible role of cities in climate change adaptation, to the need for increasing energy effi ciency of our cities, and to the improvement of urban infrastructure enhancing climate-friendly urban development. This book was prepared fi rst of all for decision makers, public offi cials work- ing in city administrations, but it can also be used by researchers and students who are interested in urban geography and more specifi cally in the topic of climate-friendly cities. The main objective of editors was to take account of the possible means that can be used in the mitigation of and adaptation to the consequences of climate change in urban areas. This target was achieved with the collection of best practices elaborated and implemented by various European cities, providing a toolkit for city management. This approach al- lowed only a limited amount of in-depth knowledge or theoretical analysis; nevertheless, the case-studies included in this volume provide a useful set of possible practical actions when one think of his or her city. With the aid of the virtual library of the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN, www.eukn.org) the editors were able to base the handbook on a large number of technical documents and best practices implemented by various European cities. The handbook starts with the identifi cation of the phenomena of urban climate, its peculiarities, and the possible impacts of global change on it. The subsequent chapter focuses on possible forms of climate-friendly urban governance. The authors believe that successful governance for climate-friendly cities should be multilevel and it should en- compass integrated planning as well as partnership among actors of climate protection. Chapter 3 off ers an innovative methodology to support the elaboration of integrated strate- gies. Step by step guidance is provided city managers how to integrate climate aspects in strategic planning. The remaining ten chapters focus on diff erent impacts of climate change and their possible mitigations in cities: such as the urban structure and land use (Ch. 4), transportation (Ch. 5), low carbon energy management (Ch. 6), climate related architecture (Ch. 7), water management and communal infrastructure development (Ch. 8), disaster manage- ment and health care (Ch. 9), climate conscious behaviour and lifestyle of local inhabitants (Ch. 10), assistance of deprived social groups in adapting to climate change (Ch. 11), impacts of climate change on urban economy (Ch. 12) and urban society (Ch. 13). Among the diff erent sectors of urban management dealt with in the chapters, however, there are three key pillars, which have more horizontal and outstanding importance: appropriate urban governance, climate conscious urban planning and climate-friendly urban development. These pillars have outmost importance on the road towards climate-friendly cities. Though this is not an academic book in its purest sense, nevertheless, we recom- mend it also specialists working in the academia because of its integrated approach and practical focus, which is oft en lacking in current academic discourses. Zoltán Kovács