Circular Cities Worth Hundreds Of Billions

How to build circular prosperity in European cities, according to EMF

Before I switched to the world of business and finance half a century ago, I trained as a city planner. Indeed, my postgraduate thesis focused on how obsolete buildings and neighborhoods could be repurposed and regenerated.

A gnarly challenge then, as now, was how to achieve those goals without the usual, taken-for-granted squeezing out of existing communities—either immediately by displacement during the development process itself or later, less directly, through the rising cost of property once refurbishment was complete.

Today, we would describe such regeneration projects—where I was already exploring the economic, social and environmental dynamics—as part of the circular economy. Happily, though we have taken many wrong turns in the decades since, an agenda that seemed pretty marginal back in the early Seventies is now building a head of steam across Europe.

Witness a new report from the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, entitled Building Prosperity: Unlocking the Potential of a Nature-Positive, Circular Economy for Europe. Produced with consultancies Arup and SYSTEMIQ, it advocates the adoption of six circular strategies to revolutionize Europe’s built environment, en route to boosting both economic activity and enhancing climate resilience.

The benefits in headlines

The headline conclusions are striking. A circular transformation of Europe’s towns and cities, we are told, “could address 90% of housing needs while preventing urban sprawl the size of half of Belgium.” That sounds worth having.

Moreover, it is estimated that households and local businesses could enjoy €22bn in yearly savings, mainly through lower energy and water charges.

Maybe you like bigger numbers? Here we go: circular strategies could generate €733bn annually for businesses and society by 2035.

On the environmental side, meanwhile, circular approaches “could conserve 250 million tonnes of construction materials each year. And greener cities would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to taking 12 million cars off the roads and help keep urban areas cooler during heatwaves.”

In terms of risk avoidance, the team concludes that “employing nature-based climate adaptation strategies could safeguard [€]632 billion of properties and businesses from loss or damage.” Something for the insurance and reinsurance industries to consider?

Six ways to go in circles

In terms of the six circular strategies spotlighted, we learn that:

·      Redeveloping brownfield sites—and converting vacant commercial building—could prevent 7,700 km² of urban sprawl and reduce associated carbon emissions and biodiversity impacts.

·      Additionally, increasing tree canopies and expanding green-blue spaces, including water and vegetation areas, could add 8,500 km² of green space to European cities, in the process enhancing climate resilience.

·      Additionally, employing material-efficient designs and using low-impact materials, such as reused, recycled, bio-based, and low-carbon alternatives, could reduce land use for extracting construction materials by 500 km² and avoid substantial emissions.

For those still wanting a clincher, how about the potential contribution to job creation? “The shift towards a nature-positive, circular economy is expected to create 700,000 new jobs by 2030” across the EU, Building Prosperity suggests, “spanning sectors ranging from repair and remanufacturing to regenerative agriculture.”

Then, too, there is the potential impact on the cost-of-living crisis. “Circular economy approaches can significantly reduce the costs of essential goods such as food, housing, and mobility,” we learn, “potentially increasing European disposable income for households by 11% by 2030.”

With Ursula van der Leyen now voted back in for another 5-year term as president of the European Commission, this report needs not only to be high on her to-read list, but its analysis and recommendations on her to-do list.

And if you want to know more about the evolution of my thinking, my 21st book is a memoir called Tickling Sharks: How We Sold Business on Sustainability (Fast Company Press, June 2024). Our video trailer can be found here. Available in good book stores and on Amazon, in hardback, paperback, Kindle and audio formats—the last being the first audio version of one of my books that I have voiced myself. Let me know what you think!