For the past few years, Amsterdam has committed to pioneering solutions for the transition to a more self-sufficient, circular city. Most of the resulting projects have mainly focused thus far on optimizing resource flows (e.g. building materials, food, water, energy, etc.) to and from the built environment. The role of public spaces, where circularity becomes shared and tangible for instance in the form of productive green/blue infrastructures, or of the social infrastructures (of participation, learning, voluntary work, etc.) underpinning many of these circular initiatives have not received much attention thus far. On the circular thematic route we will explore in what ways various social infrastructures mediate the transition towards a circular economy, and how public spaces are implicated in the process.
Questions to be addressed on the route:
- What resources were involved in these ideas and projects?
- How is public space implicated in circularity projects?
- What other kinds of resources have been vital for realising these transformations?
- How inclusive are they?
- How does the urban-rural fringe of Amsterdam play a role the transition towards a circular economy?
Nodes on the route for the time being
– Tuinen van West (Atelier project link)