What is Covenant of Mayors

Cities play an important role in the development of economies, generating wealth and well-being for citizens, providing better, energy efficient and sustainable services and giving residents their rightful place as the cornerstone of city management. Spain has a quite unique example of a smart city, Vitoria-Gasteiz. This is an emblematic city for Europe, which awarded this municipality the title of European Green Capital 2012. This paper seeks to analyse the best sustainable practices through a case study based on content analysis of this city's website. In the social dimension, the results highlight the promotion of resident participation through municipal services, to ensure public debate and transparency. In the environmental dimension, the city has a sustainable mobility plan that aims to reverse the trend towards an increased use of private vehicles by promoting the use of buses, trams and bicycles. Finally, in the economic dimension, the findings underscore the city's economic rigour, transparency in management and economic recovery.