Andreas Obersteg

Abstract

In the European context, cities and regions play a key role in boosting circularity and achievethe European Green Deal action plan ambition to ‘boost the efficient use of resources by movingto a clean, circular economy’. To this end, cities and regions will be instrumental in promoting circularitythrough engagement with key actors and integration of circular economy (CE) goals within theirpolicies and spatial plans. To support this effort, it is essential to develop appropriate metrics and toolsfor evaluating the progress and transition towards a circular economy. Although numerous new assessmentmethodologies have been suggested (Corona et al., 2019), they generally focus on quantitatively assessinghow circular a project, system, or business is, or on evaluating the extent to which circular strategies alignwith the principles of a circular economy. Current metrics rarely extend beyond material sustainabilityassessments, which means they often do not capture the complexity of the CE transition and lacka comprehensive, integrated perspective. In particular, what they omit are the spatial (Williams, 2020),the governance (Korhonen et al., 2018) and the social dimensions (Pitkänen et al., 2020). In this paper, wepropose a holistic transition assessment tool developed and tested across several metropolitan regions,including Amsterdam, Naples, Łódź, Hamburg and Pécs, being at different stages of the circular economytransition. The final version of the tool was applied in two cases, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Areaand the city of Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The tool focuses on five dimensions: (1) governance structures,(2) awareness, comprehensiveness of the sustainability assessment, (3) tools for measuring materialstocks and flows as well as (4) for co-creation of solutions and strategies with stakeholders, and (5) circularbuilt environment. The results of applying the tool in a series of workshops with regional CE stakeholders allow for exploring the following questions: What is the state of the transition towards CE in Europeanurban regions from a holistic perspective? What hinders these transitions? And how to identify meansto overcome those barriers? The assessment tool is of interest for regional and urban policy-makers,planners and stakeholders engaged in development of CE strategies and policies. What is more, the resultspresented in the paper allow for comparative insights into the state of transition towards CE and for drawinglessons on what it takes to nudge the development of regions and cities towards circularity.

Keywords: circular economy, circular transition, governance, awareness, sustainability assessment

Alexander Wandl [a.wandl@tudelft.nl], Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department of Urbanism Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft: The Netherlands
Marcin Dąbrowski, Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department of Urbanism Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft: The Netherlands
Gilda Berruti [gberruti@unina.it], Federico II University of Naples, Department of Architecture Corso Umberto I 40 - 80138 Napoli: Italy
Arianne Acke, Public Waste Agency Flanders Stationsstraat 110 2800 Mechelen: Belgium
Andreas Obersteg, HafenCity Universität, Department of Urban Planning: HafenCity Universität Hamburg Henning-Voscherau-Platz, 120457 Hamburg: Germany
Viktor Varjú [varju.viktor@krtk.hun-ren.hu], HUN-REN Institute for Regional Studies KRTK; MATE VFGI; University of Pécs, Faculty of Humanities and Social Science 7621 Pécs, Papnövelde u. 22: Hungary
Sue Ellen Taelman, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent: Belgium
Alessandro Arlati, HafenCity Universität, Department of Urban Planning: HafenCity Universität Hamburg Henning-Voscherau-Platz, 120457 Hamburg: Germany
Małgorzata Grodzicka-Kowalczyk, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology 3/5 P.O.W. Street, 90-255, Łódź: Poland / OLP Ltd (PHENO HORIZON) 25 Traugutta Street, 90-113 Łódź: Poland
Maciej Kowalczyk, OLP Ltd (PHENO HORIZON) 25 Traugutta Street, 90-113 Łódź: Poland

Citation

APA: Wandl, A., Dąbrowski, M., Berruti, G., Acke, A., Obersteg, A., Varjú, V., Taelman, S., Arlati, A., Grodzicka-Kowalczyk, M., & Kowalczyk, M. (2023). A Holistic Self-Assessment Tool for Circular Economy Transitions in Cities and Regions. Europa XXI, 44, 15-35. https://doi.org/10.7.7163/Eu21.2023.44.10
MLA: Wandl, Alexander, et al. "A Holistic Self-Assessment Tool for Circular Economy Transitions in Cities and Regions". Europa XXI, vol. 44, 2023, pp. 15-35. https://doi.org/10.7.7163/Eu21.2023.44.10
Chicago: Wandl, Alexander, Dąbrowski, Marcin, Berruti, Gilda, Acke, Arianne, Obersteg, Andreas, Varjú, Viktor, Taelman, Sue Ellen, Arlati, Alessandro, Grodzicka-Kowalczyk, Małgorzata, and Kowalczyk, Maciej. "A Holistic Self-Assessment Tool for Circular Economy Transitions in Cities and Regions". Europa XXI 44 (2023): 15-35. https://doi.org/10.7.7163/Eu21.2023.44.10
Harvard: Wandl, A., Dąbrowski, M., Berruti, G., Acke, A., Obersteg, A., Varjú, V., Taelman, S., Arlati, A., Grodzicka-Kowalczyk, M., & Kowalczyk, M. 2023. "A Holistic Self-Assessment Tool for Circular Economy Transitions in Cities and Regions". Europa XXI, vol. 44, pp. 15-35. https://doi.org/10.7.7163/Eu21.2023.44.10