Knowledge Agora



Scientific Article details

Title Urban Regions Shifting to Circular Economy: Understanding Challenges for New Ways of Governance
ID_Doc 2852
Authors Obersteg, A; Arlati, A; Acke, A; Berruti, G; Czapiewski, K; Dabrowski, M; Heurkens, E; Mezei, C; Palestino, MF; Varjú, V; Wójcik, M; Knieling, J
Title Urban Regions Shifting to Circular Economy: Understanding Challenges for New Ways of Governance
Year 2019
Published Urban Planning, 4, 3
DOI 10.17645/up.v4i3.2158
Abstract Urban areas account for around 50% of global solid waste generation. In the last decade, the European Union has supported numerous initiatives aiming at reducing waste generation by promoting shifts towards Circular Economy (CE) approaches. Governing this process has become imperative. This article focuses on the results of a governance analysis of six urban regions in Europe involved in the Horizon 2020 project REPAiR. By means of semi-structured interviews, document analysis and workshops with local stakeholders, for each urban area a list of governance challenges which hinder the necessary shift to circularity was drafted. In order to compare the six cases, the various challenges have been categorized using the PESTEL-O method. Results highlight a significant variation in policy contexts and the need for these to evolve by adapting stakeholders' and policy-makers' engagement and diffusing knowledge on CE. Common challenges among the six regions include a lack of an integrated guiding framework (both political and legal), limited awareness among citizens, and technological barriers. All these elements call for a multi-faceted governance approach able to embrace the complexity of the process and comprehensively address the various challenges to completing the shift towards circularity in cities.
Author Keywords challenges; circular economy; governance; peri-urban areas; urban region
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
EID WOS:000488258800003
WoS Category Urban Studies
Research Area Urban Studies
PDF https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/download/2158/2158
Similar atricles
Scroll