This paper analyses the role of cities in energy policies to build resilience and assesses related energy policy practices in cities. It analyses how energy affects resilience in cities from the economic, environmental, social and institutional perspectives. It also assesses the policy practices of six cities; Barcelona (Spain), Bristol (UK), Kyoto (Japan), Munich (Germany), Perpignan (France) and Toronto (Canada). This paper outlines the building blocks of key policy strategies; adaptive energy management, robust energy management, redundant energy management, flexible energy management, inclusive energy management, resourceful energy management and integrated energy management. It proposes a number of policy measures in the building blocks for managing energy smartly in cities to build resilience.