Circular Economy and the Role of Universities in Urban Regeneration: The Case of Ortigia, Syracuse

Abstract

Regeneration processes activate stable regimes of interaction and interdependence among the architectural, economic, cultural and social sub-systems in settlements. The thesis of this paper is that in order to progress towards sustainable and inclusive cities, urban governance should widen the decision-making arena, promoting virtuous circular dynamics based on knowledge transfer, strategic decision making and stakeholders’ engagement. The historic urban landscape is a privileged la b for this purpose. The paper adapts the Triple-Helix model of knowledge-industry-government relationships to interpret the unexpected regimes of interaction between Local Authority and Cultural Heritage Assets triggered in the late 90es by the establishment of a knowledge provider such as a Faculty of Architecture in the highly degraded heritage context of the city of Syracuse, Italy. Following this approach, the authors explain the urban regeneration happened over the last 20 years in the port city of Syracuse, based on knowledge sharing and resources’ protection that promoted processes of social engagement and institutional empowerment for both new residents and entrepreneurs.

Circular Economy and Resilience Thinking for Historic Urban Landscape Regeneration: The Case of Torre Annunziata, Naples

“…In the context of the HUL, as result of historic layering, transition processes produce waste not only in terms of sub-system and component residues but also in terms of unsustainable pressures on the urban landscape [8]. Differently from the linear economy model, the circular paradigm can respond switching trade-offs between users' needs and design requirements accounting for our planet's needs [20].…”

“…The social dimension of cultural identity, in fact, highlights the value of heritage for the community to improve the quality of life, and especially the active role of communities in the protection and promotion of their cultural heritage [17]. Furthermore, the partnership between public authorities and higher education institutions focuses on the strategic role that these institutions can play as providers and promoters of knowledge capital [8,39]. This partnership activates a strategic decision making process to increase site attractiveness and to reinforce the overall virtuous socio-economic circle: the local authority provides financial support, investing resources in favor of higher education institutions and enhancing local culture, while the higher education institution supports urban development and stimulates innovation and civic engagement.…”

“…Their systematic identification represents the potential for urban development. This approach is indispensable to orient regeneration strategies aimed at creating new dynamic balances between safeguard and development actions [8]. The circular economy model, in line with the HUL perspective, encourages the creation of a "community of relationships", a strategic element in determining the quality of life, but also for the generation of new economic value chains [42].…”

“…Resilience thinking seeks to understand the life cycles and complexity of systems (including the innovation systems) in order to better manage them, for system productivity and process circularity. A circular city model can be interpreted as a long term process of coherent co-evolution between man and his living environment [8], whose values must be rediscovered and regenerated. Applied to HUL, it can be a helpful tool to maximize the value of settlements, activating social, economic and environmental synergies [9].…”

Circular Economy Indicators as a Supporting Tool for European Regional Development Policies

“…Recently, a CE evaluation tool was even proposed for sustainable event management for a hypothetical Olympic Village [34]. Moreover, CE ideas appeared as an urban regeneration model, with universities playing one of the key roles in this process [35]. Numerous attempts have been made to evaluate how CE-based business models could be applied to industry [10,13].…”