The idea of powering Brighton and Hove by renewable energy seems like a distant dream, but experts say it can be achieved with the right attitude and a little ingenuity.

Rooftop gardens and tenants who run their own housing estates could also become common features in the city, they claim.

These schemes are among those investigated by a group of nine architects, council representatives and housing association officials from Sussex.

The team has returned from a trip to Scandinavia organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) to look at revolutionary housing programmes there.

The aim was to generate ideas on how to make creative use of what little land Brighton and Hove has for development.

Among those who went was city councillor Jack Hazelgrove, whose £400 ticket was paid for by the New Deal for Communities group, of which he is a member. Chris Moquet, chairman of the southern regions CIH European housing group, also went along.

The group's first stop was the City of Tomorrow in Malmo, Sweden. This is designed as an example of how environmentally-friendly a densely-populated area can be.

The city, created on the site of a former dock, is self- sufficient and houses 600 people. All the energy produced uses wind, sun and water.

There are 45 wind turbines along the seashore, which provide the majority of the city's electricity. Solar panels are used to heat water in the homes and bio- gas from rubbish and sewage being treated is pumped back into a natural gas supply.

All the water is recycled for future use, although it is not drinkable.

The city owns a pool of six electric cars which, for a yearly subscription, anyone can use when making local trips.

The local council and developers have been allocated £7.2 billion to complete the project, from both the Swedish government and Europe.

Coun Hazelgrove said many of the techniques being used in the city could be transferred to Brighton and Hove.

"There is no reason why wind turbines could not be constructed here. Brighton Marina, Shoreham and Black Rock would all be ideal locations.

"It is sad our society does not seize upon these opportunities and seems happy to keep doing things as it always has rather than making much-needed changes."

He said he would be speaking to councillor Joyce Edmond Smith, who heads the sustainable development committee, about what he saw in the City of Tomorrow.

He said: "What is needed is a change in our thinking before more opportunities are lost."

Mr Moquet said: "There are no requirements for developers to make use of renewable energy when they consider building projects here. It seems something needs to change."

House builders at the city site were encouraged to be experimental, providing their creations were well-insulated to reduce energy needs. Where some homes are four-storey wooden structures, others are brightly-coloured ten-storey concrete buildings.

It is a uniqueness that comes at a price - with one exception.

A block of flats has been created for students, using an experimental tunnel concept. The block is made from square concrete tunnels stacked on top of each other, quickly and cheaply. Fifty flats took less than six months to complete.

Coun Hazelgrove said the technique would be ideally suited for building university accommodation.

The team's next stop was Augustenborg, Sweden, where it viewed a selection of roof gardens.

Here, the plant sedum is planted into soil on flat- roofed buildings where it grows as grass. The method helps brighten up otherwise shabby buildings and Coun Hazelgrove said it was a system which could easily be used here.

He said: "So many schools have these bleak flat-roofed buildings and something like this could really brighten them up. The gardens would also have a great educational benefit."

Just outside Copenhagen lies an estate run by Glostrup Housing Association. Unlike conventional housing association estates however, this one is run by its tenants.

Each year the 1,200 tenants vote on how much rent to pay and can even kick out the housing association managers.

The houses are owned by the local authority, which selected 20 per cent of the estate tenants from a waiting list. The remaining 80 per cent are chosen by the housing association to encourage a social mix.

Coun Hazelgrove said: "We are forever saying we want to build mixed communities and yet we have to follow our lists so the most needy are given houses first.

"Although that cannot be avoided, it tends to create ghetto areas."

The group's final port of call was Orestad, an extension of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The area mixes housing with shops, industry, offices and a university. A light railway links the area to the city and to Copenhagen Airport.

Coun Hazelgrove said the idea of mixing land uses could be transferred to areas of Brighton - such as the railway station site.

About 2,500 copies of a CIH report of the visit will also be distributed to members nationwide in the hope of encouraging change.