matter. This is not intended to provide prescriptive measures of what should be done, nor to glorify the initiatives undertaken in specific contexts. Doing either would be naïve and even counterproductive. Instead, the pathways and cases are presented here to inspire learning from current and ongoing approaches and initiatives, while casting a critical eye on both their potential and shortcomings. The aim is to acknowledge the diverse factors that might trigger such transformative pathways, as well as the actual conditions that might enable cities to overcome lock-ins and become transformative in different contexts, in order to reverse the negative environmental trends examined in chapter 3.


The pathways deal respectively with strategic approaches to building urban circularity (section 5.2), achieving deep decarbonization (section 5.3) building resilience in a city (section 5.4) and building an inclusive and just city (section 5.5). This last pathway examines how and why introducing a justice perspective into all pathways is crucial to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The final section explores the key lessons emerging from interactions across all pathways and what makes them truly transformational.


5.2 Net-zero circular cities pathway


As discussed in chapter 4, the goal of transforming cities to work in a circular fashion involves (re)designing and (re) integrating urban resource use in cities such that as a city grows and improves quality of life, its demands for new resources as well as its generation of waste are driven to near-zero. The notion of a circular city is inspired by the functioning of natural ecosystems, in which resources are conserved and wastes from one organism provide nutrients for others, resulting in net-zero pollution.


Transformation towards circular cities requires that local governments become more familiar with the interlinked concepts of resource flows, urban metabolism and circular economy: v Resource flows represent the movement of resources (for example materials, energy, people and information) into the city, how they circulate between sectors and uses, how they accumulate within the city and how the remainder exit the city;


v Urban metabolism, depicted in detail in chapter 4, describes how these flows interact to shape the city, service the needs of its people, and impact the surrounding hinterland (Musango, Currie and Robinson 2017). In this pathway, the aim is to shift the urban metabolism from linear to circular, so that the amount of resources entering and waste exiting the city are minimized;


v Circular economy is one in which a continuous flow of technical and biological materials creates opportunities for social and economic value to be created in the process of shifting towards circularity. Much more


1 It involves concepts such as eliminating single-use products, extending the life of products and promoting new behaviours such as reusing products.


A variety of studies show the possibility of making buildings far more cost-effective by reorganizing utilities to further incentivize energy and water conservation, supported by very efficient production infrastructure (Pero et al. 2019; Laine, Heinonen and Junnila 2020; Terés-Zubiaga et al. 2020).


Figure 5.2 illustrates the multiple options available for circular economic value to be created by governments, businesses and citizens. It can serve as a useful framework for cities to understand the full range of possibilities for circular cities.


While saving resources and minimizing waste often come with financial incentives, shifting beyond isolated private sector initiatives and pilot projects towards circular cities requires a systemic approach informed by a detailed understanding of a city’s urban metabolism and the integration of circularity principles throughout the entire city system. As awareness of resource use plays a significant role in directing resource efficiency and equity efforts, urban metabolism needs to be understood and monitored to assist strategic planning by local governments (International Resource Panel [IRP] 2018; Musango, Currie and Robinson 2017). Measuring resource use and the production of waste across the urban system at each stage of processing and use is a good starting point for identifying areas for systemic redesign and intervention. Doing so can both reduce resource consumption and process and direct “waste” resources for use in other city processes.


Circular cities can also become part of larger circularity initiatives, as local governments around the world are coming together to pledge their commitment to the shift towards circular economies. In Europe, over 20 cities have committed to this transition by signing the European Circular


98 GEO for Cities


than simply recycling,1


it benefits from an integrated


approach at multiple levels – from government-run infrastructure systems to private sector facilities and community initiatives.


Transformative pathways for circular cities need to be adapted to each city’s circumstances, characteristics and political realities. There is no standardized solution, as some efforts in cities such as Rotterdam and London and a wide range of Chinese cities already demonstrate (London Waste and Recycling Board [LWARB] 2017; Gladek et al. 2018; Prendeville et al. 2018; Wang et al. 2018). Yet, many cities are moving aggressively towards what are often termed net-zero energy, water and waste buildings, defined as those that: v minimize their operating energy demand through design and meet their ongoing energy needs through renewable energy and district heating/cooling strategies;


v minimize total water consumption and wastewater discharges while maximizing alternative water sources such as rainwater or greywater;


v and reduce, reuse, recycle, compost or recover solid waste streams (other than hazardous or medical waste), with no waste disposal to landfills or incinerators (Fowler et al. 2017; Lützkendorf and Balouktsi 2019).


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