How can cities prepare for the spatial impact of the circular economy? Amsterdam is aiming for a climate neutral, circular and climate resistant city by 2050. Together with Structural Collective and the City of Amsterdam, we investigated how much space is needed to make that ambition a reality in Amsterdam.
From a longlist of more than 25 opportunities for circularity in the built environment, consumer goods and food and organic material streams, we selected seven opportunities with the greatest impact on Amsterdam's circular ambitions. Amsterdam not only wants to be circular, but also to operate within planetary boundaries. To make all the products that Amsterdammers consume requires an area eleven times the size of the city.
We developed a new method in which we mapped the space claim of the seven opportunities from basic principles: from the entire value chain to the material and spatial implications, translated into concrete spatial typologies that can be used directly in area development and planning processes.
Three-step method
To investigate the circular space demand in its full breadth, we developed a three-step method:
- Step 1. Understanding material flows and environmental impact
For each circular theme, material flows and their environmental impact are mapped, translated into future scenarios based on policy goals, and converted into spatial rules of thumb that show how much space these flows occupy. - Step 2. Translating material insights into spatial guidelines
Those rules of thumb are translated into a program of spatial requirements per material, storage, transport, infrastructure, and elaborated into urban typologies at five scales (XS to XL), from street interventions to regional material hubs. - Step 3. Spatial puzzle: two contrasting scenarios
Combining the typologies into two contrasting spatial scenarios per theme reveals where, how much and what kind of space the circular economy requires in the city, and where linking opportunities between themes arise.
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7 opportunities for circularity in Amsterdam
From three value chains, built environment, consumer goods and food and organic waste streams, we selected seven opportunities with the greatest impact:
1. Storage of materials from public space for reuse
Maintenance, replacement and redevelopment in Amsterdam's public space releases many materials and the demand for new material is high. It is useful for designers to know what spatial puzzles they have to take into account in case they want to reuse materials from public space.
A concrete example
To store and reuse 118 hectares of paving material from street renovations, Amsterdam needs between 1.6 and 25 hectares of storage space, depending on stacking efficiency. This could save €7.2 million in environmental costs. We also investigated the spatial implications of building in wood, recycling concrete and recovering food waste streams.
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2. Spatial implications of timber construction in the housing task
For the coming decades, Amsterdam has the largest housing task in the Netherlands. An investment decision has been made for over 70,000 homes. For over 30,000 homes a decision in principle. Will these fit within Amsterdam's CO2 budget if we build with wood? Are there additional space claims to realize this?
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3. Reuse of materials in construction, renovation and demolition
Every year, more than one Amsterdam produces a huge flow of construction and demolition waste every year. In 2019 alone, around 1.16 million tons of rubble, wood, metal and soil left the city: almost 70% of all primary waste and accounting for over 1 ton per inhabitant converted. How can these resources be better utilized?
4. Shared use of appliances in urban neighborhoods
The purchase and use of (electrical) appliances causes an estimated 950 kilos of CO₂ emissions per Dutch household per year. Sharing and rental services for tools, electronic and household appliances help Amsterdam residents save money, space and goods. How can we get local residents to share more and consume less?
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5. High-quality collection and sorting points for consumer goods
About 70% of discarded textiles and about 50% of small (household/personal) electronics in Amsterdam are now not collected separately. By collecting and sorting close to the consumer, we hope to cut this leakage rate in half and reuse half of these products directly or recycle them at high quality.
6. Recovery of discarded electronic waste as a city mine
Amsterdam produces about 24 million kg of electronic waste per year. So there is huge potential to recycle this e-waste to recover critical resources and achieve climate gains. This is not something the city can solve within its borders, but a conceptual exploration of the question: At what spatial scale should we solve this puzzle and is there an opportunity for the Amsterdam port area?
7. Food outlets, social restaurants and food hubs against food waste
Every day more than 45,000 kilos of food still good for consumption ends up in the trash. There are many initiatives and start-ups in the city that combat this food waste. Scaling them up and making them mainstream helps. How can we ensure that we link reducing food waste with improving food security?
More information?
We invite you to read the full report to discover the elaboration of the seven opportunities for a more circular Amsterdam.
The Atlas Space for the Circular Economy unlocks the results of this research digitally. The Atlas provides maps and datasets that designers can use directly in their own tasks and scales.
This will give designers increasingly practical tools to integrate circular principles into their own work - and step by step, the circular economy will gain a permanent place in the city.
