The research i've been reading of late (and i can't provide it just now cos the archives of the mailing list it was posted to appear to be offline) suggests that sustainable urban living is a pipedream.
It can work for individuals only so long as the vast majority of city-dwellers are living on imported (brought from outside the city) food and power. The almost 9 million people in London simply cannot all grow food within the city limits. There's not enough physical space.
And regarding the solar-power solution you propose. I've still yet to find evidence that solar panels are an energy-source as opposed to an energy-sink. Check out:
http://dieoff.org/synopsis.htm
under "RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS" close to the bottom of the page.
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