Scope

A circular built environment (CBE) introduces new demands for space—such as circular building hubs, storage areas for reused materials, and facilities for sorting and remanufacturing building components. Moreover, the demand for increasing the use of bio-based materials in construction (AMS, 2021; EU, 2023) further accentuates the need for more space for regenerative raw materials’ production and processing. Policy makers are just beginning to understand the extensive spatial implications of a truly circular built environment and therefore the concept is still largely unexplored: the four different future visions for CE in 2050 identified by the recent PBL report (2023) have an entirely different spatial footprint and influence spatial planning across scales and the design of cities and regions significantly.  

In this light, the transition to a CBE contributes significantly to the spatial requirements of the energy transition, climate adaptation, and the regeneration of biodiversity in the Euro Delta Region. This region encompasses the conurbations of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse deltas, including major areas like the Randstad, Brussels, and the Rhine-Ruhr area and with a population of almost 50 million, it is considered to be a potential transnational pilot area for territorial collaborative action to advance and implement the EU Green Deal (Metrex SURE Expert Group, 2019).

Participants of the Summer School will have the unique opportunity to explore the territorial consequences of transitioning towards a circular built environment. They will do this in collaboration with stakeholders from the project consortium, which includes the City of Amsterdam, Brussels Perspective & Brussels Environment, TU Delft, RWTH Aachen, Krefeld Business, Duisburg Business & Innovation, The Hague, Province of South Holland, the METREX network, and the Deltametropolis Association. Together, we will operationalise the scales to aspects model of TU Delft's Circular Built Environment Hub.

The program will begin with an analysis of ongoing best practices. We will investigate how the territorial assets of a macro-region, characterised by its population density and the proximity and accessibility of different uses that interact across national borders, can either foster or hinder the transition towards a circular built environment.

References

1. AMS. (2021). Houtbouwmythes ontkracht het onderscheid tussen fabels en feiten. 
2. European Commission. (2023). Bioeconomy knowledge base: an online library to support EU policymaking. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. 
3. Metrex SURE Expert Group. (September 2019). Strategic Urban region Eurodelta: Narrative and strategy for strengthening the megaregion of Strategic Urban Region Eurodelta. 
4. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. (2023). Ruimte voor circulaire economie. Verkenning van de ruimtelijke voorwaarden voor een circulaire economie. PBL: Den Haag.