Abstract
Cities are leading in the implementation of circular economy (CE) principles and sustainable development due to the concentration of knowledge, resources and technology while remaining the highest consumers and producers of resources. CE, urban metabolism (UM) and industrial symbiosis (IS) offer a new more holistic approach based on material and energy flow analysis and materials recovery from waste by creating IS networks to support a new circular urban system (CUM) which contrast to the traditional linear extract-produce-use-dispose model of economic systems. In this paper, we present the concepts of CE, IS and CUM and how the new framework could improve cities transition to sustainability and CE, with detailed CE and IS indicators analysis. We introduce the relations between IS, CE and UM concepts, how they can be used and monitored in the CUM framework. CUM can help unite urban planners, the city’s governance and the business sector to promote collaboration across the city to improve future sustainability and circularity by closing loops.
Highlights
The circular cities concept is more relevant than ever in the context of growing problems caused by climate change, rapid urbanization, and growing demand for resources and services to maintain the same level of life quality
The review of existing literature and publications was used to present the concepts of circular city, industrial symbiosis and circular urban metabolism, to map and assess how circular economy (CE), IS and UM concepts correlate with each other
CE is gaining momentum among politics, academia, industry, and society putting forward a number of environmental, economic, and climate-related benefits The CE concept as a political strategy was introduced by the EU in 2015 in the document called “Closing the loop—An EU action plan for the circular economy” and marks the beginning of EU’s new international policy and efforts to encourage economy’s transition from linear to circular
Summary
The circular cities concept is more relevant than ever in the context of growing problems caused by climate change, rapid urbanization, and growing demand for resources and services to maintain the same level of life quality. Today’s society focuses on meeting the rising average standard of living and short-term improvement by eliminating the need to restore biodiversity loss which now is recognized as one of the top global economic threats along with climate action failure, extreme weather, and natural disasters [1,2]. Today only 8.6% of the world economy is circular and this is 0.5% lower compared to 9.1% in 2018. This should arise politicians, society and business sector awareness, and concern about the success of reaching the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
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