Seeking Circularity: Circular Urban Metabolism in the Context of Industrial Symbiosis

Abstract

Cities are leading in the implementation of circular economy (CE) principles and sustainable development due to the concentration of knowledge, resources and technology while remaining the highest consumers and producers of resources. CE, urban metabolism (UM) and industrial symbiosis (IS) offer a new more holistic approach based on material and energy flow analysis and materials recovery from waste by creating IS networks to support a new circular urban system (CUM) which contrast to the traditional linear extract-produce-use-dispose model of economic systems. In this paper, we present the concepts of CE, IS and CUM and how the new framework could improve cities transition to sustainability and CE, with detailed CE and IS indicators analysis. We introduce the relations between IS, CE and UM concepts, how they can be used and monitored in the CUM framework. CUM can help unite urban planners, the city’s governance and the business sector to promote collaboration across the city to improve future sustainability and circularity by closing loops.

Industrial symbiosis in Brazil: A systematic literature review

“…IS is related to sustainable development and CE. This result is in line with other studies (Feiferytė-Skirienė and Stasiškienė, 2021; Jato-Espino and Ruiz-Puente, 2020; Karayılan et al, 2021; Marinelli et al, 2021; Patala et al, 2020). In the network of researchers, the highlight is the author from UFRJ, Alessandra Magrini.…”

Hubs for Circularity: Geo-Based Industrial Clustering towards Urban Symbiosis in Europe

“…To implement the CE concept, action from a diverse range of stakeholders is critical. Crucial actors are industries and cities establishing symbiotic relations towards higher levels of circularity [15,16]. The relevance of cities in the creation of industrial hubs for circularity is high.…”

“…Although cities occupy only around 3% of the planet's surface, the concentration of the population in urban areas is over 50% and is expected to increase to almost 70% by 2050 [26]. Urban areas are related to 75% of the world's resources and are linked to 60-80% of the total greenhouse gas emissions [16,27]. Consumption of domestic materials in cities is projected to reach approximately 90 billion tonnes by 2050 [28].…”

“…True to this approach, Accenture [6] developed a strategy for hubs in Europe targeting net-zero emissions with a focus on energy-intensive industries. The second concept, urban-industrial symbiosis [15,16], introduces synergies among industries and cities, acknowledging the importance of urban collaboration to effectively reduce the environmental impact in a region. Such strategy becomes more prominent as the distance between industries, traditionally established in suburban areas, reduces due to the expansion of cities in regions around the world [17].…”

Research Trends on Climate Change and Circular Economy from a Knowledge Mapping Perspective

“…Case studies on "urban metabolism" and "industrial symbiosis" with a positive impact on climate change are scarcer. The synergy of these themes offers a new holistic approach to support a new circular urban system aligned with the development of smart circular supply chains beyond the local context [54] that can be enhanced by manufacturing with the implementation of digital technologies [55][56][57][58].…”