Circular Economy Strategies in Eight Historic Port Cities: Criteria and Indicators Towards a Circular City Assessment Framework

The circular city is emerging as new concept and form of practice in sustainable urban development. This is a response to the complex and pressing challenges of urbanization, as highlighted in the New Urban Agenda (NUA). The concept of a “circular city” or “circular city-region” derives from the circular economy model applied in the spatial territorial dimension. It can be associated with the concept of a “self-sustainable” regenerative city, as stated in paragraph n.71 of the NUA. This paper aims to develop an extensive form of “screening” of circular economy actions in emerging circular cities, focusing on eight European historic port cities self-defined as “circular”. The analysis is carried out as a review of circular economy actions in the selected cities, and specifically aims to identify the key areas of implementation in which the investments in the circular economy are more oriented, as well as to analyze the spatial implications of the reuse of buildings and sites, proposing a set of criteria and indicators for ex-ante and ex-post evaluations and monitoring of circular cities. Results show that the built environment (including cultural heritage), energy and mobility, waste management, water management, industrial production (including plastics, textiles, and industry 4.0 and circular design), agri-food, and citizens and communities can be adopted as strategic areas of implementation of the circular city model in historic cities, highlighting a lack of indicators in some sectors and identifying a possible framework for “closed” urban metabolism evaluation from a life-cycle perspective, focusing on evaluation criteria and indicators in the (historic) built environment.

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Conceptual imposings of quality management of system of production of composite materials for it is rocket the space equipment

Informacionno-technologicheskij vestnik ◽

10.21499/2409-1650-2017-4-30-38 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 30-38

Author(s):

V. G. Isaev ◽

T. N. Antipova

Keyword(s):

Composite Materials ◽

Quality Management ◽

Evaluation Criteria ◽

Criteria And Indicators ◽

Properties Of Materials ◽

A Priority ◽

Required Quality

Basic provisions of the concept and methodology of production of composite materials for the missile and space equipment are offered. The system of the purposes realizing the principle of a priority of the purposes of the customer is offered. The system of evaluation criteria and indicators of quality of composite materials the realizing interrelation of requirements of the customer to quality of material and dependence of ensuring the required quality on the used technologies is developed. It is shown that for ensuring quality of composite materials for units and the RKT systems first of all it is necessary development of mathematical dependences of properties of materials on parameters of the technological modes in the conditions of obligatory implementation of requirements of the customer.

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Circular Digital Built Environment: An Emerging Framework

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116348 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6348

Author(s):

Sultan Çetin ◽

Catherine De Wolf ◽

Nancy Bocken

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Digital Technologies ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Digital Platforms ◽

Blockchain Technology ◽

Digital Twins ◽

Starting Point ◽

Building Information ◽

Framework Development

Digital technologies are considered to be an essential enabler of the circular economy in various industries. However, to date, very few studies have investigated which digital technologies could enable the circular economy in the built environment. This study specifically focuses on the built environment as one of the largest, most energy- and material-intensive industries globally, and investigates the following question: which digital technologies potentially enable a circular economy in the built environment, and in what ways? The research uses an iterative stepwise method: (1) framework development based on regenerating, narrowing, slowing and closing resource loop principles; (2) expert workshops to understand the usage of digital technologies in a circular built environment; (3) a literature and practice review to further populate the emerging framework with relevant digital technologies; and (4) the final mapping of digital technologies onto the framework. This study develops a novel Circular Digital Built Environment framework. It identifies and maps ten enabling digital technologies to facilitate a circular economy in the built environment. These include: (1) additive/robotic manufacturing, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) big data and analytics, (4) blockchain technology, (5) building information modelling, (6) digital platforms/marketplaces, (7) digital twins, (8) the geographical information system, (9) material passports/databanks, and (10) the internet of things. The framework provides a fruitful starting point for the novel research avenue at the intersection of circular economy, digital technology and the built environment, and gives practitioners inspiration for sustainable innovation in the sector.

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Identifying Challenges and Solutions in Cultural Heritage Adaptive Reuse through the Historic Urban Landscape Approach in Amsterdam

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13105547 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 5547

Author(s):

Nadia Pintossi ◽

Deniz Ikiz Kaya ◽

Ana Pereira Roders

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Multiple Scales ◽

Adaptive Reuse ◽

Sustainable Urban Development ◽

Landscape Approach ◽

The Public ◽

Private Knowledge ◽

Manifest Content

Cultural heritage drives and enables sustainable urban development. The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage creates values while prolonging the lifespan of heritage. Similarly, circular economy creates value while extending the useful life of materials and elements through their reuse. Existing studies on adaptive reuse challenges seldom focus on cultural heritage properties, and they are often identified through the engagement of a limited variety of stakeholders, as compared to the actors normally involved in adaptive reuse. Filling this gap, this paper provides a preliminary baseline of challenges faced by the city of Amsterdam from the perspective of various involved stakeholders, and suggests solutions to address them. The participants represented the public, private, knowledge, and third sectors. The methods used were the following: for data collection, a multidisciplinary workshop using the steps of the Historic Urban Landscape approach as an assessment framework applied to multiple scales on adaptive reuse, and for data analysis, manifest content analysis. The results expanded the range of challenges and solutions reported by previous literature on the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in content and scale by identifying 61 themes—e.g., knowledge and civic engagement. Tools and stakeholders were also identified. These findings provide a reference for future practice, policymaking, and decision-making, facilitating the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage to capitalize on its potential for sustainable development and circular economy.

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Design of Consumables in a Resource-Efficient Economy—A Literature Review

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 1036

Author(s):

Siri Willskytt

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Literature Review ◽

Product Design ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Design Guidelines ◽

The Novel ◽

Specific Design ◽

Design Considerations ◽

Life Cycle Perspective ◽

General Product

Consumable products have received less attention in the circular economy (CE), particularly in regard to the design of resource-efficient products. This literature review investigates the extent to which existing design guidelines for resource-efficient products are applicable to consumables. This analysis is divided into two parts. The first investigates the extent to which general product-design guidelines (i.e., applicable to both durables and consumables) are applicable to consumables. This analysis also scrutinizes the type of recommendations presented by the ecodesign and circular product design, to investigate the novel aspects of the CE in product design. The second analysis examines the type of design considerations the literature on product-type specific design guidelines recommends for specific consumables and whether such guidelines are transferable. The analysis of general guidelines showed that, although guidelines are intended to be general and applicable to many types of products, their applicability to consumable products is limited. Less than half of their recommendations can be applied to consumables. The analysis also identified several design considerations that are transferable between product-specific design guidelines. This paper shows the importance of the life-cycle perspective in product design, to maximize the opportunities to improve consumables.

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Regimes of accumulation and the production of the built environment of Cantonments, Accra-Tema City-Region

GeoJournal ◽

10.1007/s10708-021-10469-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ian E. A. Yeboah ◽

Godwin Arku ◽

John K. Maingi

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

City Region

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Risk-Informed Performance-Based Metrics for Evaluating the Structural Safety and Serviceability of Constructed Assets against Natural Disasters

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13115925 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 5925

Author(s):

Nuno Marques de Almeida ◽

Maria João Falcão Silva ◽

Filipa Salvado ◽

Hugo Rodrigues ◽

Damjan Maletič

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Built Environment ◽

Natural Disasters ◽

Evaluation Criteria ◽

Design Methods ◽

Structural Safety ◽

Building Structures ◽

Natural Agents ◽

Long Life ◽

Physical Asset

The tangible and intangible value derived from the built environment is of great importance. This raises concerns related to the resilience of constructed assets to both human-made and natural disasters. Consideration of these concerns is present in the countless decisions made by various stakeholders during the decades-long life cycle of this type of physical asset. This paper addresses these issues from the standpoint of the engineering aspects that must be managed to enhance the structural safety and serviceability of buildings against natural disasters. It presents risk-informed performance-based parameterization strategies and evaluation criteria as well as design methods to embed differentiated levels of structural safety and serviceability of buildings against wind, snow, earthquakes and other natural agents. The proposed approach enables designers to assure the resilience and reliability of building structures against natural risks.

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The 3 C's of the Circular Economy for Food. A conceptual framework for circular design in the food system

DIID - No. 74 (2021) ◽

10.30682/diid7321h ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Franco Fassio

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Food System ◽

Raw Material ◽

Starting Point ◽

Development Goals ◽

Definition Of ◽

Open Question ◽

Circular Design

Food, the basic connecting unit of all the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, plays a crucial role in the ecological transition towards a circular economic paradigm. This paper takes scientific considerations as a starting point in order to contribute to the definition of a theoretical-operational framework in which to grow the Circular Economy for Food. This is a still-open question in a sector of the circular economy that is emerging as vital to sustainable development. The 3 C's of Capital, Cyclicality and Co-evolution offer a systemic, holistic vision of the food system's role. Within this conceptual framework, the designers can find the main boundaries of the system, within which to express their creativity. The aim must be to avoid damaging relationships with the best supplier of raw material known to humanity (Nature), respecting planetary boundaries and at the same time offering a fair space to civil society.

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Steel: friend or foe in the face of the climate emergency?

10.2749/ghent.2021.0175 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Walter Swann ◽

Francois Hanus ◽

Olivier Vasart ◽

Alan Knight

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Circular Economy ◽

High Potential ◽

If Steel ◽

Embodied Carbon ◽

The World ◽

The Face ◽

Zero Carbon ◽

Recycled Material

<p>Steel is the most recycled material in the world and a key contributor to the circular economy, but todays primary steelmaking methods result in high embodied carbon. In the face of the climate emergency, designers have been tasked with driving down the upfront emissions of the built environment. Naturally the embodied carbon characteristics of all materials have been put under the microscope and those with high impacts are being demonised, primary steel is one of those. So how does a designer balance the immediate needs of the climate emergency with the future needs of society? When confronted with a material like steel with practically perfect circularity characteristics but high embodied impacts how do designers balance the needs of today with those of tomorrow? What if steel could be made with zero carbon emissions? Coupled with its high potential for re-use and its high recycling rates is steel a friend and ally in the face of the climate emergency rather than a foe?</p>

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