Downloads
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24306/plnxt/125Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Elifsu Şahin, Gözde Arzu Sarıcan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Keywords:
Circular Urban Design, circular economy, circular design, sustainable urbanism, urban regeneration, Vauban Eco-DistrictAbstract
This article examines how circular economy and circular design are interpreted at the scales of urban planning, urban development and urban design, and how they are spatially operationalized through the case of the Vauban Eco-District in Freiburg. Against the deepening unsustainability of the linear “take-make-dispose” model—manifested in the climate crisis, resource scarcity, and escalating waste—the study aims to assess the extent to which circular design principles can be concretized within residential environments. Grounded in an interpretivist epistemology, the qualitative research design integrates a conceptual literature review with an in-depth case study of Vauban. Drawing on existing academic literature, the eight core principles of Circular Urban Design are systematically articulated and used to map Vauban’s practices in energy, water, waste, mobility, green infrastructure, and community governance. The findings indicate that Vauban demonstrates a strong capacity for circularity through closed-loop infrastructural systems and participatory housing production, while also exhibiting limitations related to high costs, insufficient quantitative evidence, and social-justice challenges associated with participatory elitism. The article offers policy lessons on the potentials and conditions of transferability of circular design at the neighbourhood scale.
The article is a part of the upcoming special issue "Circular Cities and Regions – Planning for Sustainable Social and Inclusive Communities".
References
Ahern, J. (2013). Urban landscape sustainability and resilience: The promise and challenges of integrating ecology with urban planning and design. Landscape Ecology, 28(6), 1203–1212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-012-9799-z
Amenta, L., & Van Timmeren, A. (2018). Beyond wastescapes: Towards circular landscapes. Addressing the spatial dimension of circularity through the regeneration of wastescapes. Sustainability, 10(12), 4740. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124740
Amenta, L., Russo, M., & van Timmeren, A. (Eds.). (2022). Regenerative territories: Dimensions of circularity for healthy metabolisms (GeoJournal Library, Vol. 128). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78536-9
Ancapi, B. F. (2023). Ex ante analysis of circular built environment policy coherence. Buildings and Cities, 4(1), 575–593. https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.337
Anttiroiko, A.-V. (2023). Smart circular cities: Governing the relationality, spatiality, and digitality in the promotion of circular economy in an urban region. Sustainability, 15(17), 12680. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712680
Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944366908977225
Avinç, G. M., & Selçuk, S. A. (2024). Mimaride biyomimikri yaklaşımının döngüsel biyoekonomiye katkısı: Örnekler ışığında bir değerlendirme. GRID-Architecture Planning and Design Journal, 7(2), 768–793.
Beatley, T. (2011). Biophilic cities: Integrating nature into urban design and planning. Island Press.
Bocken, N. M. P., de Pauw, I., Bakker, C., & van der Grinten, B. (2016). Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 33(5), 308–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2016.1172124
Böhm, S., & Alexander, A. T. (2024). Towards a place-based approach to circular innovation. Journal of Innovation Management, 12(1), XII–XXII. https://doi.org/10.24840/2183-0606_012.001_L002
Borrallo-Jiménez, M., LopezdeAsiain, M., Herrera-Limones, R., & Lumbreras Arcos, M. (2020). Towards a circular economy for the city of Seville: The method for developing a guide for a more sustainable architecture and urbanism (GAUS). Sustainability, 12(18), 7421. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187421
Bortolotti, A., Verga, G. C., & Khan, A. Z. (2023). Which circularity for urban design and planning? A compass to navigate circular economy research knowledge. Planning Practice & Research, 38(5), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2023.2262128
Brand, S. (1994). How buildings learn: What happens after they’re built. Viking.
Brglez, K., Perc, M., & Kovačič Lukman, R. (2024). The complexity and interconnectedness of circular cities and the circular economy for sustainability. Sustainable Development, 32(3), 2049–2065. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2766
Bulkeley, H. (2005). Reconfiguring environmental governance: Towards a politics of scales and networks. Political Geography, 24(8), 875–902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2005.07.002
Calisto Friant, M., Reid, K., Boesler, P., Vermeulen, W. J. V., & Salomone, R. (2023). Sustainable circular cities? Analysing urban circular economy policies in Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Copenhagen. Local Environment, 28(10), 1331–1369. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2023.2206643
Coates, G. J. (2013). The sustainable urban district of Vauban in Freiburg, Germany. International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, 8(4), 265–286.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
Della Spina, L., & Giorno, C. (2022). Waste landscape: Urban regeneration process for shared scenarios. Sustainability, 14(5), 2880. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052880
Dodman, D., Leck, H., Rusca, M., & Colenbrander, S. (2017). African urbanisation and urbanism: Implications for risk accumulation and reduction. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 26, 7–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.06.029
Domenech, T., & Borrion, A. (2022). Embedding circular economy principles into urban regeneration and waste management: Framework and metrics. Sustainability, 14(3), 1293. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031293
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, & IDEO. (2017). The Circular Design Guide. Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2013). Towards the circular economy Vol. 1: An economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition. Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2016, September 29). The Circular Design Guide: Overview. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-design-guide/overview
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2019a). Circular cities: A framework for circular design and urban systems. Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2019b). Completing the picture: How the circular economy tackles climate change. Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2021). What is a linear economy? Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2023). Schools of thought that inspired the circular economy. Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (n.d.). Cities and a circular economy: Overview. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/cities/overview
Elshater, A., & Abusaada, H. (2022). Developing process for selecting research techniques in urban planning and urban design with a PRISMA-compliant review. Social Sciences, 11(10), 471. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11100471
Fastenrath, S., & Preller, B. (2018). Freiburg: The emblematic green city. In J. Affolderbach & C. Schulz (Eds.), Green building transitions: Regional trajectories of innovation in Europe, Canada and Australia (pp. 69–98). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77709-2_5
Florez Ayala, D. H., Alberton, A., & Ersoy, A. (2022). Urban living labs: Pathways of sustainability transitions towards innovative city systems from a circular economy perspective. Sustainability, 14(16), 9831. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169831
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800405284363
Foster, G., & Saleh, R. (2021). The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in European circular city plans: A systematic review. Sustainability, 13(5), 2889. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052889
Fraker, H. (2013). The hidden potential of sustainable neighborhoods: Lessons from low-carbon communities. Island Press.
Fratini, C. F., Georg, S., & Jørgensen, M. S. (2019). Exploring circular economy imaginaries in European cities: A research agenda for the governance of urban sustainability transitions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 228, 974–989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.193
Frosch, R. A., & Gallopoulos, N. E. (1989). Strategies for manufacturing. Scientific American, 261(3), 144–152. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0989-144
Gallotti, R., Sacco, P., & De Domenico, M. (2021). Complex urban systems: Challenges and integrated solutions for the sustainability and resilience of cities. Complexity, 2021, 1782354. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/1782354
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The circular economy—A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C., & Ulgiati, S. (2016). A review on circular economy: The expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 114, 11–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.007
Girard, L. F., & Nocca, F. (2019). Moving towards the circular economy/city model: Which tools for operationalizing this model? Sustainability, 11(22), 6253. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226253
Gomes, V., da Silva, M. G., & Kowaltowski, D. C. C. K. (2022). Long-term experience of teaching life cycle assessment and circular design to future architects: A learning by doing approach in a design studio setting. Sustainability, 14(12), 7355. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127355
Gössling, S., Schröder, M., Späth, P., & Freytag, T. (2016). Urban space distribution and sustainable transport. Transport Reviews, 36(5), 659–679. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2016.1147101
Gravagnuolo, A., Angrisano, M., & Fusco Girard, L. (2019). Circular economy strategies in eight historic port cities: Criteria and indicators towards a circular city assessment framework. Sustainability, 11(13), 3512. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133512
Gregson, N., Crang, M., Fuller, S., & Holmes, H. (2015). Interrogating the circular economy: The moral economy of resource recovery in the EU. Economy and Society, 44(2), 218–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2015.1013353
Hamiduddin, I. (2015). Social sustainability, residential design and demographic balance: Neighbourhood planning strategies in Freiburg, Germany. Town Planning Review, 86(1), 29–52. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24579281
Hamiduddin, I., & Daseking, W. (2014). Community-based planning in Freiburg, Germany: The case of Vauban. In N. Gallent & D. Ciaffi (Eds.), Community action and planning: Contexts, drivers and outcomes (pp. 237–258). Policy Press.
Healey, P. (1997). Collaborative planning: Shaping places in fragmented societies. Macmillan.
Heshmati, A. (2015). A review of the circular economy and its implementation. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9611. http://ftp.iza.org/dp9611.pdf
Heurkens, E., & Dąbrowski, M. (2020). Circling the square: Governance of the circular economy transition in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. European Spatial Research and Policy, 27(2), 11–31. https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.27.2.02
Hobson, K. (2016). Closing the loop or squaring the circle? Locating generative spaces for the circular economy. Progress in Human Geography, 40(1), 88–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132514566342
Hobson, K. (2020). “Small stories of closing loops”: Social circularity and the everyday circular economy. Climatic Change, 163(1), 99–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02480-z
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Circle Economy, Metabolic, & Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2021). Circular city actions framework: Bringing the circular economy to every city. Bonn, Germany.
Jacintos Nieves, A., & Delgado Ramos, G. C. (2023). Advancing the application of a multidimensional sustainable urban waste management model in a circular economy in Mexico City. Sustainability, 15(17), 12678. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712678
Korhonen, J., Honkasalo, A., & Seppälä, J. (2018). Circular economy: The concept and its limitations. Ecological Economics, 143, 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.06.041
Krysovatyy, A., Zvarych, I., & Zvarych, R. (2018). Circular economy in the context of alterglobalization. Journal of International Studies, 11(4), 185–200. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2018/11-4/13
Lakatos, E. S., Yong, G., Szilagyi, A., Clinci, D. S., Georgescu, L., Iticescu, C., & Cioca, L.-I. (2021). Conceptualizing core aspects on circular economy in cities. Sustainability, 13(14), 7549. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147549
Langergraber, G., Castellar, J. A. C., Pucher, B., Baganz, G. F. M., Milosevic, D., Andreucci, M.-B., Kearney, K., Pineda-Martos, R., & Atanasova, N. (2021). A framework for addressing circularity challenges in cities with nature-based solutions. Water, 13(17), 2355. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172355
Lewandowski, M. (2016). Designing the business models for circular economy—Towards the conceptual framework. Sustainability, 8(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010043
Li, M., Remme, R. P., van Bodegom, P. M., & van Oudenhoven, A. P. E. (2025). Solution to what? Global assessment of nature-based solutions, urban challenges, and outcomes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 256, 105294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105294
Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (2012). Safe on the move: The importance of the built environment. In V. Ceccato (Ed.), The urban fabric of crime and fear (pp. 85–110). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4210-9_4
Lyle, J. T. (1994). Regenerative design for sustainable development. John Wiley & Sons.
Marin, J., & De Meulder, B. (2018). Interpreting circularity: Circular city representations concealing transition drivers. Sustainability, 10(5), 1310. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051310
Marin, J., Alaerts, L., & Van Acker, K. (2020). A materials bank for circular Leuven: How to monitor ‘messy’ circular city transition projects. Sustainability, 12(24), 10351. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410351
McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. North Point Press.
McNeill, D. (2022). Urban geography II: Materially important cities. Progress in Human Geography, 46(5), 1261–1268. https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325221104819
Medearis, D., & Daseking, W. (2012). Freiburg, Germany: Germany’s eco-capital. In T. Beatley (Ed.), Green cities of Europe: Global lessons on green urbanism (pp. 65–82). Island Press/Center for Resource Economics. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-175-7_3
Medved, P. (2018). Exploring the ‘Just City principles’ within two European sustainable neighbourhoods. Journal of Urban Design, 23(3), 414–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2017.1369870
Miller, B., & Mössner, S. (2020). Urban sustainability and counter-sustainability: Spatial contradictions and conflicts in policy and governance in the Freiburg and Calgary metropolitan regions. Urban Studies, 57(11), 2241–2262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098020919280
Moreno, M., De los Rios, C., Rowe, Z., & Charnley, F. (2016). A conceptual framework for circular design. Sustainability, 8(9), 937. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8090937
Mössner, S. (2015). Urban development in Freiburg, Germany–sustainable and neoliberal? DIE ERDE–Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin, 146(2–3), 189–193. https://doi.org/10.12854/erde-146-16
Mössner, S., & Krueger, R. (2018). Deconstructing modern utopias: Sustainable urbanism, participation and profit in the ‘European City’. In K. Ward, A. E. G. Jonas, B. Miller, D. Wilson (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook on Spaces of Urban Politics (pp. 555–564). Routledge.
Munonye, W. C., & Ajonye, G. O. (2024). The role of urban design in facilitating a circular economy: From linear to regenerative cities. Journal of Environmental Science Studies, 7(2), 56. https://doi.org/10.20849/jess.v7i2.1479
Murray, A., Skene, K., & Haynes, K. (2017). The circular economy: An interdisciplinary exploration of the concept and application in a global context. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(3), 369–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2693-2
Papageorgiou, A., Henrysson, M., Nuur, C., Sinha, R., Sundberg, C., & Vanhuyse, F. (2021). Mapping and assessing indicator-based frameworks for monitoring circular economy development at the city-level. Sustainable Cities and Society, 75, 103378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103378
Pauli, G. (2010). The blue economy: 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs. Paradigm Publications.
Pearce, D. W., & Turner, R. K. (1990). Economics of natural resources and the environment. Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Pekdemir, S., Guaralda, M., & Limb, M. (2025). The missing link: Circularity in urban design—a systematic review of circular paradigms for resilient and self-sustaining cities. Cities, 162, 106007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.106007
Pelorosso, R., Gobattoni, F., & Leone, A. (2017). The low-entropy city: A thermodynamic approach to reconnect urban systems with nature. Landscape and Urban Planning, 168, 22–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.10.002
Pieroni, M. P. P., McAloone, T. C., & Pigosso, D. C. A. (2018). Exploring the synergistic relationships of circular business model development and product design. DS 92: Proceedings of the DESIGN 2018 15th International Design Conference. https://doi.org/10.21278/idc.2018.0202
Pomponi, F., & Moncaster, A. (2017). Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 710–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.055
Prendeville, S., Cherim, E., & Bocken, N. (2018). Circular cities: Mapping six cities in transition. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 26, 171–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2017.03.002
Sala Benites, H., Osmond, P., & Prasad, D. (2023). A neighbourhood-scale conceptual model towards regenerative circularity for the built environment. Sustainable Development, 31(6), 512–528. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2481
Schneider, T., & Till, J. (2005). Flexible housing: Opportunities and limits. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, 9(2), 157–166. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1359135505000199
Schroepfer, T., & Hee, L. (2008). Emerging forms of sustainable urbanism: Case studies of Vauban Freiburg and Solarcity Linz. Journal of Green Building, 3(2), 65–76. https://doi.org/10.3992/jgb.3.2.65
Schuetze, T. (2018). Vauban and Rieselfeld, Freiburg, Germany: Innovation in the implementation process. In S. Darchen & G. Searle (Eds.), Global planning innovations for urban sustainability (pp. 73–89). Routledge.
Schwandt, T. A. (2000). Three epistemological stances for qualitative inquiry: Interpretivism, hermeneutics, and social constructionism. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 189–213). Sage.
Schwer, S. (2017). Only for the rich? Low-carbon energy transition in the Vauban (Freiburg, Germany). [Master’s thesis, Lund University]. LUP Student Papers http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8926647
Söderström, O., Paasche, T., & Klauser, F. (2014). Smart cities as corporate storytelling. City: Analysis of Urban Trends, Culture, Theory, Policy, Action, 18(3), 307–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2014.906716
Stahel, W. R. (2010). The performance economy (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage.
Tapia, C., Bianchi, M., Pallaske, G., & Bassi, A. M. (2021). Towards a territorial definition of a circular economy: Exploring the role of territorial factors in closed-loop systems. European Planning Studies, 29(8), 1438–1457. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2020.1867511
Taşbaşı, A. Ş. (2025). İktisadi büyümeyi doğadan ilham alan teknolojiler ile yeniden düşünmek: biyomimikri, yapay zekâ ve döngüsel ekonomi. Social Review of Technology and Change, 3(1), 42–63.
Tucci, F., Baiani, S., Altamura, P., & Cecafosso, V. (2021). District Circular Transition e progetto tecnologico verso un modello di Circular City | District Circular Transition and technological design towards a Circular City model. TECHNE – Journal of Technology for Architecture and Environment, 22, 227–239. https://doi.org/10.36253/techne-10612
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme. (2019). Global Environment Outlook 6: Healthy Planet, Healthy People. Cambridge University Press.
UN-Habitat – United Nations Human Settlements Programme. (2022). World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities. UN-Habitat.
United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/
Vanhuyse, F., Fejzić, E., Ddiba, D., & Henrysson, M. (2021). The lack of social impact considerations in transitioning towards urban circular economies: A scoping review. Sustainable Cities and Society, 75, 103394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103394
Vanhuyse, F., Haddaway, N. R., & Henrysson, M. (2021). Circular cities: An evidence map of research between 2010 and 2020. Discover Sustainability, 2(50), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-021-00059-2
Verga, G. C., & Khan, A. Z. (2022). Space matters: Barriers and enablers for embedding urban circularity practices in the Brussels Capital Region. Frontiers in Built Environment, 8, 810049. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.810049
Wildeboer, V., & Savini, F. (2022). The state of the circular economy: Waste valorization in Hong Kong and Rotterdam. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 46(5), 749–765. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.13122
Williams, J. (2019). Circular cities. Urban Studies, 56(13), 2746–2762. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098018806133
Williams, J. (2020). The role of spatial planning in transitioning to circular urban development. Urban Geography, 41(6), 915–919. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2020.1796042
Williams, J. (2021). Circular cities: What are the benefits of circular development? Sustainability, 13(10), 5725. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105725
World Bank. (2021). Demographic trends and urbanization. World Bank.
Wuyts, W., & Marin, J. (2022). “Nobody” matters in circular landscapes. Local Environment, 27(8), 945–961. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2022.2040465
Wuyts, W., Misev, D., De Meester, S., Van Acker, K., & Bach, V. (2022). How can material stock studies assist the implementation of the circular economy in cities? Environmental Science & Technology, 56(3), 1593–1608. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c05275
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Sage.
