For urban use, my personal belief is that a vertical axis
turbine is the way to go.
If you are building your own, the savonius rotor is the simplest mechanically to build.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savonius_wind_turbine
A young Brit won a prize for his vertical axis design which was
portable, light weight, and intended for the urban environment.
It actually attracted industry attention when his design won.
This was several years ago (2005?) and there has been nothing since those initial articles. I'm still waiting...
We have hurricanes here in the Pacific Northwest in the winter time with almost routine power outages where I live.
Last winter it was every two weeks. The precise time the power goes out is exactly when a wind turbine would hold it's
own; at night when the wind is a blowin, the trees are falling,
and the power lines are being knocked down. Solar panels don't work so good under those conditions.