Circular economy (CE) proposes alternative models where the value of products and resources is kept as long as possible and wastes are considerably reduced or even eliminated at all stages of their life cycle. Due to the high concentration of economic activities and the intensive use of resources, cities are privileged places in which CE models need to be achieved. Due to the high concentration of economic activities and the intensive use of resources, cities are privileged places in which new consumption models have to be achieved. Over the 50% of the world population lives in cities and , according to the New Urban Agenda (2016), despite that cities occupy approximately only 2% of the total land, they are responsible of:
- 70% of economy (GDP)
- over 60% of global energy consumption
- 70% of greenhouse gas emissions
- 70% of global waste.
Circular economy (CE) proposes alternative models where the value of products and resources is kept as long as possible and wastes are considerably reduced or even eliminated at all stages of their life cycle. Due to the high concentration of economic activities and the intensive use of resources, cities are privileged places where CE models need to be achieved.
The transition towards circular economy represents new challenges for business, new ways of consumers behavior and new solutions to transform waste into resource. The embedment of a CE approach at urban scale can allow the transformation of cities from resource consumers and waste producers towards closed-loop systems. In particular CE models overcome wastes and inefficiencies of linear economy and support the transition towards an innovative perspective of resources use/value optimization, reaching both environmental and economic sustainability. However, achieving the transition towards a circular economy requires the adoption of systemic approaches. The implementation of CE strategies and models is necessary to face several urban challenges; on the other hand the users experience of these innovative models is crucial. Thanks to the Urban Living Lab (ULL) approach, an open and creative innovation processes where phases are guided directly by users can be co-created. This paper describes CE models co-design process engaging citizens and local urban stakeholders. Several CE models have been explored: regeneration practices related to civic agriculture, sharing economy initiatives as co-working, resource optimization models as local and km0 production, close-loop models as re-use centers and experiences of smart waste management systems. This experience has been realized in the framework of Italian national strategic projects for the implementation of Smart City Models, funded by the Fund for Research into Electrical Systems (RSE). The adoption of systemic and collaborative approach of ULL for CE models co-creation has allowed the identification of circular solutions acting as catalyst for urban district transformation. The combination of the cooperative approach and resource efficiency strategies has resulted in several mutual competitive advantages towards actions integration and connection at various levels.
KEYWORDS: urban living labs, smart city, smart community, circular economy models, sharing economy
6a. Land use and planning
