actors that actually do rate climate change higher on their agendas have the potential to form a critical mass for socioecological change in the city if (1) they improve their cooperation, if (2) institutional reforms in the urban space increase their impact, and if (3) they manage to align with a still ¿silent majority¿ of stakeholders that by now rate climate change to be of minor relevance. The latter point is based on another key ¿nding of our analyses: Actors with high structural power (based either on political, economic or network power) might be turned into potential ¿allies¿ of a low-carbon strategy, if (1) they can interpret adaptation and mitigation options as new opportunities in their option space, (2) climate issues are more closely linked to sustainability issues, and (3) they perceive institutional reforms and stakeholder involvement as being bene¿cial for their daily operations. From these insights we derive some consequences for future pilot projects and policy advice.