Enhancing the circular economy with nature-based solutions in the built urban environment: green building materials, systems and sites

Pearlmutter, David; Theochari, Dimitra; Nehls, Thomas; Pinho, Pedro; Piro, Patrizia; Koroļova, Alisa; Papaefthimiou, Spiros; Mateo, Mari Carmen Garcia; Calheiros, Cristina S. C.; Zluwa, Irene; Pitha, Ulrike; Schosseler, P.M.; Florentin, Yaakov; Ouannou, Shahar; Gal, Erez; Aicher, Andreas; Arnold, Killian; Igondová, Erika; Pucher, Bernhard

doi:10.2166/bgs.2019.928

Cited by 101 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…• Pearlmutter et al (2020) present the point of few of WG1 Built environment. NBS are discussed at three different levels: (i) green building materials; (ii) green building systems; and (iii) green building sites.…”

Section: This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing nature-based solutions for creating a resourceful circular city

et al. 2020

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Resource depletion, climate change and degradation of ecosystems are challenges faced by cities worldwide and will increase if cities do not adapt. In order to tackle those challenges, it is necessary to transform our cities into sustainable systems using a holistic approach. One element in achieving this transition is the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS). NBS can provide a range of ecosystem services beneficial for the urban biosphere such as regulation of micro-climates, flood prevention, water treatment, food provision and more. However, most NBS are implemented serving only one single purpose. Adopting the concept of circular economy by combining different types of services and returning resources to the city, would increase the benefits gained for urban areas. The COST Action Circular City aims to establish a network testing the hypothesis that: ‘A circular flow system that implements NBS for managing nutrients and resources within the urban biosphere will lead to a resilient, sustainable and healthy urban environment’. In this paper we introduce the COST Action Circular City by describing its main objectives and aims. The paper also serves as introduction to the review papers of the Action's five Working Groups in this Special Issue.

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Section: This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing nature-based solutions for creating a resourceful circular city

et al. 2020

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“…urban drainage), NBS can deliver several ecosystem services at the same time (e.g., treatment, evaporative cooling, and biodiversity). A single element can serve as insulation for a building and a wastewater treatment plant at the same time [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature-Based Solutions and Circularity in Cities

et al. 2021

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Cities worldwide are facing a number of serious challenges including population growth, resource depletion, climate change, and degradation of ecosystems. To cope with these challenges, the transformation of our cities into sustainable systems using a holistic approach is required. The pathway to this urban transition is adopting the concept of circular economy for resource management. In this way, resources are kept and reused within the city. Nature-based solutions can be implemented for these tasks, and besides the circularity, they can provide additional benefits for the urbanites and the urban environment in general. This paper describes which urban challenges related to circularity can be addressed through nature-based solutions. This systematic review was developed within the COST Action CA17133 Circular City that investigates how nature-based solutions can be used to progress the circular economy in the urban built environment.

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“…Including NBS in the built environment can contribute to a circular economy and, through the provision of ecosystem services, can counteract the negative impacts of urbanization and climate change mitigation and adaptation. This can occur at three different levels: (i) green building materials, (ii) green building systems, and (iii) green building sites [ 11 ]. In this context, green roofs are an example of NBS that can be implemented at a building scale, facing different challenges when applied in new or existing buildings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Roofs Towards Circular and Resilient Cities

Calheiros

Stefanakis

2021

Circ.Econ.Sust.

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Green roofs are gaining interest as nature-based solutions (NBS) to counteract with several environmental and socio-economic problems associated to urban sprawl and climate change. The challenge is to transform the built environment through the inclusion of NBS. Taking advantage of the existing space in the top of the buildings, the integration of green roofs will support the cities’ transition towards circularity and resilience. They provide several ecosystem services and can act as multifunctional and decentralized units. In order to boost these services, green roofs need to be effectively incorporated and replicated in the urban landscape. Different configuration of systems may be considered depending on the challenges that the city foresees. To fully implement green roofs, it is important that (i) barriers are identified and overcome, (ii) standardization is set to grant liability, (iii) policies, incentives, and strategies are properly established, (iv) organizations delivering NBS services are leveraged, and (v) awareness and dissemination promotion, as investment in education, are considered. This paper intends to give an overview of the importance of green roof integration in the urban environment considering the dimensions of the building and the city, having underlined their contribution to circularity and cities’ resilience.

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Enhancing the circular economy with nature-based solutions in the built urban environment: green building materials, systems and sites

Cited by 101 publications

References 40 publications

Implementing nature-based solutions for creating a resourceful circular city

Implementing nature-based solutions for creating a resourceful circular city

Nature-Based Solutions and Circularity in Cities

Green Roofs Towards Circular and Resilient Cities

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