ABSTRACT
This chapter aims at both analysing the type and depth of responses to LA21 and exploring the factors accounting for successful stories. It is divided into four sections. The first it provides a general profile of LA21. The second broadly analyses the main trends characterising the policy, the process and the product of LA21. The third explores the validity of two of the main factors accounting for the adoption of LA21, namely, the exchange of cognitive resources and the presence of institutional leadership. The fourth, focusing on three outstanding examples of LA21 in Spain, highlights some of the positive and negative lessons emerging from the process. Barcelona is an indirectly elected institution that has no direct powers over local authorities, Desarrollo y Naturaleza (DEYNA) is an NGO and Calvia city council directly controls the process. DEYNA is an NGO founded in 1992 that works for sustainability particularly in rural areas, and has developed a model for developing LA21.
