Urban Circularity in Practice

Circular economy, a key concept of sustainable urban development, is generally discussed in relation to commodity production and consumption. This special issue, however, engages with circularity in the construction sector. From a social science perspective and by focusing on local, contextualized, and bottom-up perspectives, we outline ways in which governance, knowledge, and relationships shape and enable circular construction in contemporary cities. We argue that to understand how circular economy functions in contemporary cities it is essential to carefully examine existing practices of material (re-)circulation, alongside industrial strategies, and policy ideals.

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