From the article: "ABSTRACT: The research group Supply Chain Redesign in the Built Environment of HU University of Applied Sciences is working on research that combines principles of the circular economy with open source architectural design & urban planning. The aim is finding new ways to re-use demolition waste and recycled materials in small scale urban area developments. And to “democratize” traditional processes in the built environment. Different recent studies have shown the potential benefits, such as a reduction of emissions. In “Hof van Cartesius”, a practical case-study in Utrecht, the ambitions and implications of this approach are being questioned, investigated and tested."
This paper presents challenges in city logistics for circular supply chains of e-e-waste. Efficient e-waste management is one of the strategies to save materials, critical minerals, and precious metals. E-waste collection and recycling have gained attention recently due to lower collection and recycling rates. However, implementing circular urban supply chains is a significant economic transformation that can only work if coordination decisions are solved between the actors involved. On the one hand, this requires the implementation of efficient urban collection technologies, where waste collection companies collaborate with manufacturers, urban waste treatment specialists, and city logistics service providers supported by digital solutions for visibility and planning. On the other hand, it also requires implementing urban and regional ecosystems connected by innovative CO2-neutral circular city logistics systems. These systems must smoothly and sustainably manage the urban and regional flow of resources and data, often at a large scale and with interfaces between industrial processes, private, and public actors. This paper presents future research questions from a city logistics perspective based on a European project aimed at developing a blueprint for systemic solutions for the circularity of plastics from applications of rigid PU foams used as insulation material in refrigerators.
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Comprehensive understanding of the merits of bottom-up urban development is lacking, thus hampering and complicating associated collaborative processes. Therefore, and given the assumed relevancies, we mapped the social, environmental and economic values generated by bottom-up developments in two Dutch urban areas, using theory-based evaluation principles. These evaluations raised insights into the values, beneficiaries and path dependencies between successive values, confirming the assumed effect of placemaking accelerating further spatial developments. It also revealed broader impacts of bottom-up endeavors, such as influences on local policies and innovations in urban development.
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Circular BIOmass CAScade to 100% North Sea Region (NSR) economic activity and growth are mostly found in urban areas. Rural NSR regions experience population decline and negative economic growth. The BIOCAS project expects revitalizing and greening of rural areas go hand in hand. BIOCAS will develop rural areas of the NSR into smart specialized regions for integrated and local valorization of biomass. 13 Commercial running Bio-Cascade-Alliances (BCA’s) will be piloted, evaluated and actively shared in the involved regions. These proven concepts will accelerate adoption of high to low value bio-cascading technologies and businesses in rural regions. The project connects 18 regional initiatives around technologies, processes, businesses for the conversion of biomass streams. The initiatives collaborate in a thematic approach: Through engineering, value chain assessments, BCA’s building, partners tackle challenges that are shared by rural areas. I.e. unsustainable biomass use, a mineral surplus and soil degradation, deprivation of potentially valuable resources, and limited involvement of regional businesses and SMEs in existing bio-economy developments. The 18 partners are strongly embedded in regional settings, connected to many local partners. They will align stakeholders in BCA’s that would not have cooperated without BIOCAS interventions. Triple helix, science, business and governmental input will realize inclusive lasting bio cascade businesses, transforming costly waste to resources and viable business.Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme: €378,520.00, fEC % 50.00%1/07/17 → 30/06/21
Woningcorporaties (woco’s) trachten een bijdrage te leveren aan een duurzaam gedreven, volledig circulaire economie in 2050. Daartoe voeren zij tools in zoals kennis over circulair bouwen of ketensamenwerking. Die verzameling tools wordt in dit onderzoek levenscyclusdenken genoemd. Het invoeren van levenscyclusdenken vraagt om een systemische verandering die complex is en transdisciplinair en praktische veranderingen op alle hiërarchische lagen binnen de woco. Daartoe is een dialoog nodig tussen die lagen, die momenteel ontbreekt. Dit leidt tot de onderzoeksvraag: Op welke wijze kan binnen de interne keten van woningcorporaties de dialoog worden gefaciliteerd over het structureel invoeren van levenscyclusdenken? Binnen het consortium van woningcorporaties (Wonion, Mitros), partners (HEMUBO, Van Wijk Vastgoedonderhoud) en experts (dr. ir. Ad Straub en Gijs van Mil) ontsluiten we een dialoog tussen projectleider, asset manager, directie en/of beleids- of strategiemedewerker en financiën over de gevolgen van levenscyclusdenken op de interne organisatie van woningcorporaties. Vervolgens wordt onderzocht of SNA als basis kan dienen voor een dialoogtool die in een groter onderzoek kan worden doorontwikkeld. De beoogde resultaten zijn: 1) Een leer- en bewustwordingsproces onder beroepsprofessionals uit verschillende hiërarchische lagen en afdelingen van woco’s door het openen van de dialoog over de betekenis van levenscyclusdenken in hun werkpraktijk; 2) Een visuele omschrijving (SNA) van de complexiteit van levenscyclusdenken bij woco’s; 3) Netwerkvorming en vraagarticulatie voor het opstarten van een groter project (bijv. RAAK-Publiek) waarin de bredere productieketen wordt meegenomen; 4) Een digitaal prototype (app) dat woco’s in staat stelt zelf een SNA te maken om de dialoog op gang te brengen. Naast doorwerking in onderzoek werkt het project direct door in de onderwijspraktijk van de HU-Master of Urban Area Development. De hierboven genoemde woningcorporaties zijn opdrachtgever voor masterstudenten. Het activiteitenplan is gekoppeld aan de looptijd van de cursus “Strategisch beheer”.
TOURBAN objective is to spearhead a transnational and cross-sectoral movement towards tourism sustainability in urban areas across Europe, leveraging SME capacities and skills to uptake best practices and develop innovative solutions that make them both more sustainable and competitive. It will do so by tackling current urban tourism challenges in an era of increasing tourism visitor pressure, acting in European cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Kiel, Budapest and Tallinn. To achieve the objective, TOURBAN will share knowledge on sustainability strategies and the advantages of adopting sustainable solutions and practices, including EU/internationally recognised certificates and labels (e.g. EU Eco Label, EMAS) and circular economy models. These will be based on case studies and stories from SMEs and other frontrunners in sustainability.The project will share this practical knowledge through highly interactive training workshops and peer-to-peer sessions. Another core element of the project is cross-sector knowledge exchange and collaboration. In addition, more intensive support services will be delivered so that the tourism SMEs can effectively adopt sustainability strategies and seek additional financing. In this, financial support will be provided on the basis of a selection process under a competitive Call for Proposals launched by the Sustainable Urban Tourism Acceleration Programme. In this action, TOURBAN will engage around 70 SMEs from 7 different countries (NL, ES, DK, HR, DE, HU and EE) in a 12-month programme. To drive successful outcomes, the partnership gathers expertise in a wide range of topics related to tourism sustainability and can draw on years of practical experience in incubation, acceleration and SME developmentPartners:Breda University of Applied Sciences (Breda - The Netherlands), Barcelona Chamber of Commerce (Barcelona - Spain), B. Link Barcelona Strategic Projects (Barcelona - Spain), The Institute for Tourism Research in Northern Europe (Kiel - Germany), Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Tallinn - Estonia), City of Dubrovnik Development Agency (Dubrovnik - Croatia), Creative Business Network (Copenhagen - Denmark), VIMOSZ Hungarian Hospitality Employers’ Association (Budapest - Hungary).
