Speaker
Description
The circular economy is increasingly recognized as an important approach for mitigating resource depletion in cities. In urban planning, Williams’s circular development framework extends this concept beyond economic processes to encompass ecological and social dimensions, highlighting three core processes: resource looping, ecological regeneration, and adaptive action (Williams, 2021). Low-income communities often engage in grassroots circular practices aimed at conserving resources or sustaining their livelihoods, however, these practices are frequently overlooked.
For example, in informal settlements located in the suburban areas of Chengdu, one of the largest cities in Southwest China, a significant number of migrant workers from rural areas have moved to the city in search of job opportunities. Among them, some operate within the informal food system, sustaining their livelihoods through small-scale farming and selling locally produced goods. However, their homes and livelihoods are increasingly threatened by two factors: government-led initiatives to consolidate fragmented farmland for industrial-scale food production and real estate-driven urban village redevelopment projects, which replace affordable housing and informal markets. These pressures underscore the urgent need for alternative development strategies that recognize and preserve the value of grassroots circular actions within local food systems.
To address these research gaps and promote a new model for the regeneration of marginalized areas, this study examines an informal settlement in Yongdu Village, Chengdu. It explores how rural migrants contribute to and participate in the informal food system. It further investigates the opportunities and barriers of adopting circular development approaches in stimulating a new model of urban regeneration by strengthening these grassroots practices.
This study uses a mixed-methods approach. First, field research—including street observations, interviews, and photo documentation—documents various grassroots practices, including composting, recultivating idle farmland, and operating informal street markets. These activities are categorized according to Williams’s framework, and their collaborative dynamics are analyzed. Second, drawing on Research through Design, this research formulated a vision that proposes strengthening these local practices through a circular development plan centered on residents’ needs. This vision explores the potential of circular development for sustainable urban regeneration by recognizing overlooked resources and enhancing the well-being of marginalized communities. Finally, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with urban planners and scholars to identify the barriers in China’s planning system in accommodating such a circular development vision.
Research findings indicate that existing circular actions in urban villages—driven by local labor, indigenous knowledge systems, and underutilized land and space—offer valuable opportunities for initiating circular development. However, the current spatial planning system in Chengdu lacks sufficient planning tools and capacities in areas such as regional circular planning, waste resource recycling, land pollution regulation, and community vulnerability recognition, creating obstacles to improving these local circular initiatives.
Overall, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the interplay of circular development strategies, sustainable food systems, and the regeneration of informal urban areas. By emphasizing the circular practices of rural migrant workers in localized food systems, our findings highlight how grassroots initiatives could advance socio-ecological justice and enhance food security. Moreover, integrating a circular development perspective into urban regeneration strategies provides novel design approaches to reinforce local food systems and grassroots efforts. Consequently, this study calls for integrating circular development into spatial planning system and emphasizes the need to make use of top-down planning tools while identifying and supporting the bottom-up circular actions of marginalized groups. Such an approach aims to achieve sustainable resource flows and a just transformation of urban food systems.
References
Williams, J. (2021). Circular Cities: A Revolution in Urban Sustainability (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429490613
| Keywords | Circular Development; Informal Food System; Marginalized Community; Urban Regeneration |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
