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‘Circularity’ in Urban Ecological Transitions: an initial definition and the identification of key challenges.

par Verga, Giulia Caterina ;Khan, Ahmed Z. ;Athanassiadis, Aristide
Référence Doctoral Seminars on Sustainability research in the Built Environment (5th Edition: May 14-15 2020: Hasselt, Belgium)
Publication Non publié, 2020

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

In the contemporary European urban planning debate, the metaphor of ‘circularity’ is increasingly used to re-define ambitions and transition strategies of cities and regions towards more ecological and resilient models. Attempts to include ‘circularity’ into urban theories and practices face the challenge of translating notions mostly developed in the domain of industrial ecology into concrete ambitions. Such ambitions struggle to be implemented as ‘strategies’ at the territorial scale by public and private actors, individuals and communities. To work towards a definition of what circularity could be at the urban and territorial scales, this paper aims to develop three trajectories of reflection. The first is historical, based on a literature review underlining its evolution. The second one conceptually explores the notion of Territorial Circularity (TC) (as the ambition to ‘circularize’ UM at the urban scale) and its implications. Here, we highlight the notion of ‘scale’ in dealing with TC while revealing increasing complexity (domains, actors, etc.) when the focus shifts from the micro (materials, components), to the meso (objects, artefacts, buildings), and to the macro (cities, ecosystems). This exploration opens a debate on TC as a radical vision in contemporary urban planning, underlining the need to decouple the notion of economic viability from ‘circular’ ambitions. The third trajectory focuses on the role of space-practitioners and on the built environment. It discusses the pertinence of the metaphor of the circle when dealing with specific urban conditions and hands-on practices. These three trajectories serve to establish an initial definition of TC and to identify key challenges for future debate in urban planning and architecture on the transition towards more ‘circular’ urban models.