• Universiteit van Amsterdam

Urban Circularity and Metabolism

CUS - UvA

It is almost impossible to disagree that climate change is an urgent issue today, and that cities are at the center of discussions addressing this phenomenon. Environmental sustainability has been a central policy concept for 20 years. Several institutional, legal, and economic reforms have been put in place to favor transition to a system of economic growth that is more sensitive to the long-term future of our planet. Yet, today’s debate is colored through the issues that emerge when this problem is addressed. The role of cities has become extremely prominent in political thinking. Cities are seen as the space where climate change can be mitigated and where adaptation can be experimentally tested and successfully implemented. Climate change remains a global issue, regarding macro balances between developed and developing regions; between wealth and poverty. However, planners and policy analysts look to urban areas for new inspiration. Cities, as composite entities made of different social and economic dynamics, are considered breeding places for creative solutions.

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