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

Akvilė Feiferytė-Skirienė and Žaneta Stasiškienė
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Akvilė Feiferytė-Skirienė: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Gedimino Str. 50, 44239 Kaunas, Lithuania
Žaneta Stasiškienė: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Gedimino Str. 50, 44239 Kaunas, Lithuania

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-31

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.

Keywords: circular economy; circular cities; urban metabolism; circular urban metabolism; industrial symbiosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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