Circular economy and the city: an urban political economy agenda

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Kębłowski ◽  
Deborah Lambert ◽  
David Bassens
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Urban Political Economy ◽  
The City

Review Article: North Urban Political Economy, Urban Theory and British Research

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAN HARDING
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
City Government ◽  
Growth Machine ◽  
Urban Theory ◽  
Urban Regime ◽  
Urban Political Economy ◽  
Urban Regimes ◽  
The Us ◽  
The City

In 1976, when European debates within urban theory were dominated by neo-Marxist and neo-Weberian approaches to cities as sites for the provision of social and welfare services, the very different notion of ‘the city as growth machine’ slipped into the US urban studies lexicon with the publication of Harvey Molotch's article of the same name. In 1983, the year in which Castells brought the radical phase of European urban studies to a halt with a famous warning against ‘the useless construction of abstract grand theory’, the concept of an urban regime had a similarly unobtrusive birth when the phrase was used by Fainstein and Fainstein to describe ‘the circle of powerful elected officials and top administrators’ in US city government. Had the story ended there it is unlikely that the world – especially outside North America – would have heard much more of urban regimes and growth machines. As it has turned out, though, from the late 1980s onwards urban scholars have hardly seemed able to hear enough about these two approaches within US urban political economy.

Atmospheric Noise: The Indefinite Urbanism of Los Angeles

Public ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (63) ◽  
pp. 134-135
Author(s):  
Andrew Merrill
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Urban Political Economy ◽  
Atmospheric Noise ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ecology And Environment ◽  
The City

This article reviews Mariana Peterson’s Atmospheric Noise, which draws jarring, cacophonous resonances between the science and engineering of acoustics, urban political economy, governmentality, the metaphysics of sound and the social construction of ecology and environment in the city of Los Angeles.

scholarly journals Urban Living Labs, Circular Economy and Nature-Based Solutions: Ideation and Testing of a New Soil in the City of Turin Using a Multi-stakeholder Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grazia Sveva Ascione ◽  
Federico Cuomo ◽  
Nicole Mariotti ◽  
Laura Corazza
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Urban Living ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Living Labs ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
The City

AbstractIn the attempt to foster circular economy (CE), cities are increasingly adopting urban living labs (ULLs) as sites of co-production aimed at testing alternative solutions based on the reuse of products, reduction of consumption and recycling of materials. Taking this perspective, our study adopts an exploratory research design to discover the pragmatic implications emerging from a case study. The City of Turin joined proGIreg, a European project that entails the regeneration of former industrial districts by means of nature-based solutions (NBS). Ranging from aquaponics to green roofs, seven NBS have been experimented in Turin, which rely on the use of natural systems to tackle social, economic and environmental challenges efficiently and sustainably. Among them, the most promising is related to the production and test of the ‘new soil’, a blend obtained by mixing earth materials coming from construction sites with compost, zeolites and mycorrhizae. The case herein presented is interesting to analyse for the multi-stakeholder management setting used, where public institutions, private companies, research institutions, citizens and associations collaborated in the co-creation and testing phase of the NBS. Consequently, the data collected through participant observation and direct interviews allow researchers to describe multi-stakeholders’ dynamics and how they work. Thus, this paper narrates a micro-contextual experience while providing a critique. Results include an analysis of the unique combination of different stakeholders, which strongly impacted on the management and the effectiveness of the entire project. By consequence, the paper offers both theoretical contributions to the relational branch of stakeholder theory and practical evidence in demonstrating the importance of the relational branch of the theory over a more traditional transactional view.

scholarly journals A Framework for Implementing and Tracking Circular Economy in Cities: The Case of Porto

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1813 ◽  
Author(s):  
António Cavaleiro de Ferreira ◽  
Francesco Fuso-Nerini
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Meso Level ◽  
Population Research ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Significant Barrier ◽  
The City

Circular economy (CE) is an emerging concept that contrasts the linear economic system. This concept is particularly relevant for cities, currently hosting approximately 50% of the world’s population. Research gaps in the analysis and implementation of circular economy in cities are a significant barrier to its implementation. This paper presents a multi-sectorial and macro-meso level framework to monitor (and set goals for) circular economy implementation in cities. Based on literature and case studies, it encompasses CE key concepts, such as flexibility, modularity, and transparency. It is structured to include all sectors in which circular economy could be adopted in a city. The framework is then tested in Porto, Portugal, monitoring the circularity of the city and considering its different sectors.

scholarly journals Impact of circular economy as the EU’s ambitious policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-96
Author(s):  
Urška Fric
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The article describes the role of legislative and legal framework which brought about a new approach to waste management through the concept of circular economy, and its drivers. We explicitly focus on the impact of ambitious EU environmental policy and its financial support from the European Commission (EC) which helped social actors recognize not only the ecological, but also the economic and social benefits of the circular economy. Over 50 actions under the “Circular Economy Action Plan” launched in 2015 have been delivered or are being implemented in this period in European Union (EU). Through overview of the EU’s ambitious policy, best practice of the circular economy in the world and status quo in circular economy at EU level we also show the circular economy is nowadays a crucial megatrend and there is still needed to increase up action at EU level, provide the competitive advantage it brings to EU economy and close the loop. Beside impact of ambitious EU environmental policy article focuses on the Cultural Political Economy (CPE) approach as a political economy approach with the purpose for explaining the role of legislative and legal framework as a mechanism for selection and retention of the paradigm of circular economy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document