♻️ The Case for Circular Cities - Issue #15
On why the circular economy has the potential to fix climate change and make our cities more resilient and liveable.
Hi everyone!
This week’s missive is a short teaser for an upcoming podcast episode on circular cities and what it means to adopt circular economy principles at-scale in the built environment.
I have been reading quite a bit about the circular economy and I have become very curious about its potentials to transform the way our economy works and to support cities in their quest for resilience, sustainability and quality of life.
Unless you’ve been living in a cavern for the last 10 years, you must be aware that time is running out before we transform our planet into a very inhospitable place. Global warming shows no signs of slowing down and even if all countries that signed the Paris Agreement fulfil their emissions-cutting pledges, the rise in temperatures is still forecast to hit 3.2 degrees Celsius this century.
There’s a need for a bigger shift and this big shift is the circular economy.
During COP26, hailed as a "make-or-break" moment for the world, many organisations and global advocates have highlighted the many ways circular thinking could help us tackle the ongoing climate crisis.
Adding circular economy solutions to each country’s climate action plans would indeed allow us to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 39%. And that’s very promising as we need to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius to avert many of the worst impacts of climate change.
🛠 Fixing the economy
Resource extraction and use account for 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions, which make global temperatures spiral upwards. This is the “take - make - waste” economy, where economic growth means intensive material extraction, overuse of resources such as water and land, large-scale waste, leading to massive environmental degradation.
Construction materials and the building sector are responsible for more than one third of global resource consumption. Furthermore, current projections estimate that by 2060 across the world the equivalent of the city of Paris will be built each week 😱
Energy transition will only solve half of the problem. Of course, the transition to renewable energy is critical in reducing greenhouse gas emissions but we need to profoundly tackle the way we design and produce things and the way our economy works.
“To fix climate change we need to fix the economy”. During COP26, some of the world’s most influential circular economy groups and advocates have gathered to convey this message and remind us all about the benefits of circular thinking.
“At the heart of this idea is the circular economy, an approach to designing, producing and using goods that looks to eliminate waste, circulate materials and regenerate nature. This concept will enable many solutions for the climate, but also for the other interlinked crises of biodiversity loss and over-extraction of natural resources. The circular economy is a framework that addresses all these interlinked crises, while also helping to unlock $4.5 trillion in economic value.”
🎯 A strategy for cities
As it is commonly known, cities only cover 2% of the world’s surface, yet they consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, just 25 megacities produce 52% of the world’s urban greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy transition will help cities reduce their emissions but that’s again only half of the picture. Cities have a key role to play as promoters, facilitators and enablers of the circular economy and could lead the charge in the sustainable use of resources, from construction, waste management, water and food systems.
Circularity has always existed in cities, through different forms. Think about the rag-and-bone men that populated cities in the 19th century, scavenging used materials and resources (such as textiles, metals, food waste) while living in extreme poverty. Think about urban metabolism, a model to describe the flows of materials and energy within cities, popularised by 19th century Scottish biologist and town planner Patrick Geddes in his work about cities as living organisms. One just needs to look back at history to understand that the idea of recycling the built environment has always existed.
In a globalised context where the flows of materials and resources have become increasingly complex and the speed of change has accelerated, circularity principles encapsulate the need for a major rethink and a better alignment of nature, people and the economy.
Circularity is also in line with current real estate business trends and could unlock new economic value. According to ARUP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, circular economy offers real estate investors and developers a framework to achieve environmental and social goals while delivering better economic performance. Today, there is a need for more flexible office spaces, co-living places, build-to-rent schemes, as well as a soaring demand for modular and adaptable facilities to support the growth of online businesses. All these trends argue for more dynamic and adaptable asset management strategies, highlighting the relevance of circular thinking for the real estate industry.
In addition, the circular economy has the potential to drastically transform the construction value chain.
💡 Key decision steps along the value chain will see actors adopt circularity by design and manage assets differently, designing out waste and pollution and regenerating natural systems, partnering and financing with other stakeholders adaptable real estate projects, as well as maintaining assets in use longer (purple boxes in the diagram).
🏗 Materials will not be extracted anymore but harvested from the existing building stock and reused. Logistics players will use sustainable ways of transporting those materials. Deconstruction, waste processing and reuse will become the starting point of new construction projects (green boxes in the diagram).
It is both an exciting and challenging time for cities worldwide and I am looking forward to sharing inspiring stories with you about how cities in Asia translate opportunities brought by circular thinking into their built environment.
🧐 To know more
Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s publications are top-notch. A go-to-destination to get your circular economy basics right.
Circle Economy, a not-for-profit organization which publishes the annual Circularity Gap Report. See the 2021 edition.
Dixit.net France’s top knowledge platform on circular urbanism, including a weekly newsletter, regular analyses and case studies, and a serious game about urban circularity La Fresque de la Ville
Metabolic, a Netherlands-based organization, stewarding organisational change, developing tools and building collective intelligence to advance circular thinking
One Planet Network, a global community of practitioners that works towards achieving SDG 12: Ensuring sustainable patterns of consumption and production
That’s it for today. As usual, a small 🧡 at the bottom of the article goes a long way !
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Thanks for your support. See you next Wednesday for a new podcast episode.
Congratulations Fabien, once again you're delving into topics of great interest to us. We should really get in touch sometimes since most of your podcasts cross our concerns and recommandations for more sustainable urban planning in Vietnam.