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An innovative circular neighbourhood

  • by JW

– a community-driven project

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The ‘circular economy’ is gaining traction – but it’s still a rather difficult thing to get across:

Transitioning from the linear to the circular economy – Vision Group for Sidmouth

If it can be linked to more obvious things, such as reducing waste:

The circular economy as a solution to plastic waste – Vision Group for Sidmouth

Electronic Waste and the Circular Economy – Vision Group for Sidmouth

And that includes waste when constructing buildings:

Circular construction: a solution to embodied carbon in buildings – Vision Group for Sidmouth

The latest from the Arch Daily looks at broadening this beyond avoiding waste when it comes to building, infrastructure and urban design:

Circular Economy in Urban Design: Sustainability and Community Involvement.

A trailblazer in establishing a local circular economy is the city of Prague. In 2019, the city, together with Amsterdam-based organization Circle Economy, analyzed local material flows and carbon emissions in relation to the local economy to identify the key industries where circular economy practices could be introduced. The resulting action plan translated into creating a network of Re-Use points that process discarded elements such as appliances and furniture, collecting household food waste that is converted into biogas and implementation of circular agricultural principles on the farming land around the city.

One of the firm’s most notable projects is Schoonschipan innovative circular neighbourhood in Amsterdam and a community-driven project. Home to more than 100 residents, the project features decentralized and sustainable energy, water and waste systems. A smart grid of solar panels helps residents trade energy among themselves while water treatment technologies retrieve energy and nutrients from wastewater. The owners association wanted to share the information accumulated during the development of the project; therefore, the project is open source. The knowledge that went into creating the residential development has been compiled on a website detailing various aspects, from materials to food production to legal aspects.

Circular Economy in Urban Design: Sustainability and Community Involvement | ArchDaily

Finally, here’s a great little animation from Schoonschip:

Greenprint

Schoonschip — Space&Matter