Our current economy is undergirded by the take-make-dispose principle, using the Earth’s resources faster than they can be replenished. Moving towards a circular economy facilitates a more conscious use of our finite resources by limiting waste and pollution generation, keeping resources in use in the economic system throughout the resources’ value chain, and by regenerating natural systems. This is achieved through the adoption of new business models that seek to design for durability, disassemble, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing and recycling, and embracing the sharing and services economy — all relying on the use of renewable energy. By bringing together benefits for businesses, people, and the environment, circularity has garnered traction as a potent means to address the climate solution, among other planetary boundaries. As centres of economic activity, cities have the unique potential to serve as focal points of innovations on circularity and efficient resource use. BASE’s latest discussion paper, together with UNEP, Arup, C40 Cities, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Mass Design Group, Mexico City, and the Prague Institute of Planning and Development, looks at possible ways for neighbourhoods to become building blocks for introducing circularity in cities by drawing on examples from Mexico City and Prague.
Neighbourhoods are large enough to be representative of community behaviour. Moreover, community-level initiatives make the concept of circularity more tangible and implementable, crucial for inspiring replication and scale-up at the national level. The discussion paper maps manageable actions within three sectoral systems: construction, servitisation, and neighbourhood food systems, which are easily adaptable to other contexts. The key findings have been briefly highlighted below:
1. Circular construction at the neighbourhood level allows for buildings and spaces to be centred on the socio-economic needs of the community. Once the community’s needs are better understood, the overall use of construction materials can be reduced by repurposing old buildings and designing the new ones for assembly, disassembly, and recoverability. By integrating construction and demolition waste in the building environment and prioritising longevity and adaptability, buildings are turned into ‘material banks.’
2. Servitisation or product-as-a-service offers the possibility of changing how systems are offered at home and businesses. It can improve resource and energy efficiency at the neighbourhood or household level, while reducing overall costs. Under servitisation, the technology provider retains ownership of the equipment (heating, cooling, lightning appliances, renewable electricity), while the customer pays only for the units they consume. As a result, the technology provider is incentivised to design goods with more extended durability, undertake preventive maintenance, and maximise end of life product recovery.
3. Neighbourhood food systems reduce reliance on industrial supply chains, minimise food waste, promote the use of practices like composting, and increase access to green open spaces. By cultivating a (re)connection between people and nature, urban gardens and localised food supply chains contribute towards a circular mindset and more conscious consumption.
Neighbourhoods provide an agile environment to gradually address the critical challenge of the dependence on existing linear networks and inspire action to reimagine, redesign, and rebuild the cities we live in.
Download the discussion paper on this link
