How Can Circular Economy Help in Urban Risk Resilience

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The Concept of Circular Economy

The extensive growth of the population and the high speed of the urbanisation give rise to numerous concerns regarding the further development of cities and the quality of peoples lives. The fact is that these tendencies precondition the growing number of demands which should be satisfied by the corresponding evolution of the economy. In such a way, the problem of waste acquires the top priority. Under these conditions, the shift to the circular economy (CE) becomes the only possible solution. CE presupposes the environmentally-friendly use of resources to attain reduction and elimination of waste by introducing specific loops in which products and services are traded. Regardless of the type, the model includes six crucial elements: Regenerate, Share, Optimize, Loop, Virtualize, and Exchange. These are essential stages in CE as their introduction guarantees a significant reduction of waste and enhanced efficiency of biological and technical materials recycling.

The Problem of CEs Transition

The last several decades, the problem of transition to the CE has been one of the most discussed issues within the EU. The growing demands of population and the high speed of industries development demand the introduction of new methods to manage waste and reduce energy consumption. Under these conditions, the transition to CE becomes an appropriate option to create the basis for the further development of societies. For instance, the Netherlands holding leading positions in the use of renewable sources and implementation of recycling technologies expects to complete the transition by 2050. To a much degree, it can be preconditioned by the use of Cirkelstads experience as it promotes the further development of the circular economy and its utilisation to improve existing disaster resilience and risk management frameworks.

Research Problem Statement

The research problem is stated as follows: currently there is a lack of understanding and experience on how CE initiatives can be developed using disaster risk management principles that help build resilient cities. Therefore, the main objective of the research is to to evaluate, grade, and categorise CE initiatives in selected European countries on the basis of a resilience framework to draw recommendations for Cirkelstad to make its CE initiatives more inclusive of disaster risk resilience. The significance of the problem is defined by the necessity to better understand the correlation between CE and prevention of natural disasters.

Research Questions

The primary research question reflects the overall purpose of the research: in what way can Cirkelstad increase the contribution of its CE initiatives to urban risk resilience? To answer this main question, a set of sub-research questions were developed. They include the following points: the nature and objective of CE initiatives in the Netherlands and Europe, Cirkelstad’s CE initiatives compared with other CE initiatives in Europe for the creation of resilient cities. Also, the assessment of CE initiatives from disaster risk perspective and its contribution to more resilient cities as well as practices and characteristics that would improve the implementation of Cirkelstad’s CE initiatives.

Research Findings

It is of high importance to overview the findings of the research in brief. Firstly, the research have identified that there are numerous European countries, including Netherlands, where CE initiatives are implemented. There are specific sets of CE initiatives for such regions as Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Northern Europe. However, the second research finding indicates that numerous barriers to implementing CE initiatives exist, despite the fact that the significance of these interventions is well-recognized. The final finding of the research is highly important since it represents a new direction in this field of study. It is found that CE initiatives, when assessed from the disaster management perspective, appear to be considerably beneficial for the creation of pre-disaster resilience in contemporary urban areas.

Cirkelstad Platform

Cirkelstad is known as an advanced platform promoting the successful implementation of the circular economy and its further development to minimise waste and attain better results. Additionally, it is focused on the attempts to improve disaster risk management using the CE as one of the factors contributing to the improved disaster resilience. There are some other similar incentives regarding the CE in the Netherlands and Europe; however, the fundamental difference is that the use of a bottom-up approach that provides more opportunities for the successful implementation. Additionally, all CE programs are implemented at the local level to attain better results and demonstrate the high effectiveness of the adherence to the given model.

Case Study of Cirkelstad

As the main purpose and working direction of Cirkelstad were observed, it is appropriate to study the case of the company. Three question are formulated in order to guide the study. Q1 ANSWER: the primary concept of CE applied in Cirkelstad is the use of renewable energy along with the reuse of waste. Q2 ANSWER: The participation of business stakeholders, investors, and community representatives will improve the company’s performance. Q3 ANSWER: CE principles and interventions as well as energy preserving activities will help to promote the company’s position within the CE.

Recovery and Recycling of Building Demolition Waste

One of the central objectives of the Cirkelstad project is the recovery and recycling of building demolition waste. The topicality of the given issue is evidenced by the fact that the further growth of cities will result in the appearance of new construction projects. The lack of infrastructure needed to collect, store, separate, and recycle build demolition waste in construction sites will result in the continuously growing number of problems in future. For this reason, the projects using CE such as Cirkelstad and other European ones are focused on maximising reuse and recycling of products and resources, along with the sustainable transportation and construction. At the same time, there is a focus on the effective material utilisation to reduce waste and improve existing approaches to building demolition. These aspects are central elements of CE programs in Europe and Netherlands.

Development of Renewable Sources of Energy

The second central objective of CE programs in the Netherlands and North, Western, and Eastern Europe is the development of renewable sources of energy. The topicality of this task is evidenced by the exhaustible character of central energy sources and the growing energy consumption preconditioned by the rise of population. For this reason, projects appealing to CE are focused on the introduction of new ways of environmentally friendly power generation along with the investigation and development of renewable energy sources like solar, water, or wind energy to meet the existing needs. Additionally, sustainable water management becomes another important issue regarding the problem of fresh water peculiar to diverse regions. Finally, it is critical to introduce improved energy consuming practices to ensure the enhanced efficiency of energy consumption and distribution.

Barriers to CEs implementation

Unfortunately, despite the fact that the European governments accept the necessity of the CE implementation, there are still numerous barriers that should be eliminated. First, it is the lack of investment as the implementation of a new model demands significant funding in a short period, while revenues can be generated only in a long-term perspective. Second, the CE is demanding of the level of skills that are currently lacking in Europe. For this reason, an urgent need for additional education arises. Third, there is still no agreement about indicators needed to monitor CE and the efficiency of its implementation. Finally, successful introduction of a new model demands significant public support as it will result in radical behavioural changes and adherence to a new lifestyle. These problems can be partially solved by the adoption of a horizontal approach to CE implementation, which presupposes formulation of policies and frameworks that support bottom-up initiatives, instead of a vertical one. Additionally, numerous shareholders can be engaged in the process to guarantee their support.

CEs Impact On a Region’s Resistance to Natural Disasters

The interconnection of the CE and resistance to natural disasters is a comparatively new direction for research preconditioned by the gradually deteriorating state of the environment under the impact of human activity and rise of industry. However, research findings prove the positive correlation between the implementation of CE practices and regions resistance to natural disasters. Despite the fact that the utilisation of the approach does not prevent catastrophes, it remains an efficient tool as CE creates the pre-disaster resilience by positively impacting the climate change. For instance, the use of renewable sources might decrease gas emissions and reduce the risk of drought, famine, and flooding.

CE and Improved Social, Economic, Physical, Human and Natural Capital

The CE can create resilience in other ways by improving social, economic, physical, human, and natural capitals. The fact is that the implementation of the CE demands additional training of specialists to attain the needed level of skills. At the same time, a higher level of preparedness and enhanced competencies minimise the probability of error during the human factor. Moreover, the transition to the CE creates sustainable livelihoods and more powerful economies that are less dependent on specific resources. Finally, the better cooperation between multiple shareholders results in potent and sustainable management techniques to overcome particular barriers or create resilience.

CE as a Tool for the Development of Disaster Management Frameworks

Assessing Cirlelstd initiatives and programs, a critical role of CE in the development of disaster management frameworks should also be admitted. The fact is that these projects make local communities more resilient to accidents because of the enhanced cooperation with governments and other shareholders who act as central contributors to the development of CE practices. For instance, the government of the Netherlands must invest funding to develop infrastructure and ensure efficient recycling cycles. It means that the local authorities remain informed about the existing problems and can act more efficiently to create disaster management frameworks.

Prevention of the Post-Disaster Recession

Finally, CE plays a critical role in preventing the post-disaster recession. First, the use of its fundamental practices helps to create an improved infrastructure needed to manage waste, which is essential for the post-disaster recovery. Second, the adherence to CE significantly decreases poverty and unemployment rates by providing individuals with new jobs and opportunities to earn money. It means that the population will not suffer from the lack of finances needed to restore housing. Finally, the use of circulation economy contributes to the elaboration of better resilience practices. In such a way, a transition to CE can have multiple positive effects on urban risk resilience and the state of economies.

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