Speaker
Description
The circular economy is increasingly regarded as a crucial strategy for mitigating resource scarcity and improving waste management in cities, becoming an important factor for urban and regional development. However, many implementation processes overlook an important aspect: the spatial dimension of circularity. Scholars have begun to advocate for “circular cities,” proposing frameworks that integrate economic, ecological, and social dimensions of circularity as part of spatial planning (Williams, 2021). Existing research neglects the challenges and values of marginalized populations, and frequently ignore to conceptualize the synergies among different factors of circular development. In addition, these research frameworks are primarily built upon Western experiences and perspectives, and there has been a notable lack of research drawing from Chinese cases, despite China's significant role in advancing the circular economy agenda. This study aims to address these gaps by rethinking Williams’ circular development framework, structured around three interrelated goals: resource looping, ecological regeneration, and adaptation actions.
First, through a comprehensive literature review, this study aims to refine the framework to highlight the necessity of recognizing and supporting vulnerable urban communities as part of adaptive actions (here revised as social adaptation), while conceptualizing how these three dimensions interconnect. Second, by conducting a thematic analysis of China’s official policy documents on circular development, the study identifies specific development objectives, implementation methods, and pathways for each of these three goals in the Chinese context and examine how these are designed and intend to steer planning practice. The analysis will consider policy framing and planning documents at both the national and city levels, using several Chinese cities as examples.
The results of this policy analysis will offer new insights on the existing circular development frameworks more broadly and also specifically in the Chinese context. Preliminary findings suggest that resource looping, one of the components of circular development, in China, places strong emphasis on industrial efficiency and eco-friendly production systems, while urban waste management—though a component—often remains disconnected from enterprise-led resource looping efforts. Meanwhile, ecological regeneration initiatives in China concentrate on agricultural restoration to compensate for decades of rapid urban expansion and protect farmland for food security. Although resource looping and ecological regeneration are relatively closely linked—primarily through eco-friendly technological upgrades, urban blue-green infrastructure, and organic waste treatment—social adaptation receives limited attention. Multi-functional circular infrastructure, accessible social services, and community-learning initiatives are largely siloed from the ecological and resource-looping agendas. These result in a fragmented policy environment that struggles to meet the specific needs of marginalized populations and undermines the broader goal of achieving sustainable and just urban transformations.
By conceptualizing how the three dimensions of circular development interact and complement one another within the policy goals, implementation pathways, and methods of circular development in the Chinese context, this study provides insights into pathways for promoting circularity through planning in the Chinese cities. It also provides insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to advance post-growth urbanism by implementing integrated circular development strategies that balance ecological integrity and social equity.
References
Williams, J. (2021). Circular Cities: A Revolution in Urban Sustainability (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429490613
| Keywords | circular development; social adaptation; literature review; policy analysis; spatial planning |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
