Researchers and practitioners in the field are invited to submit their abstracts via the official University of Graz site by 21 January 2019.

Link: https://sts-conference.isds.tugraz.at/event/5/page/37-towards-low-carbon-energy-and-mobility-systems

We are looking forward to all your abstract submissions in the field of circular economy in the built environment.

If you have any questions, please email Gillian Foster (gillian.foster@wu.ac.at) or Halliki Kreinin (halliki.kreinin@wu.ac.at).

S18: Is the Circular Economy able to transform the built environment in cities?

This session focuses on new research that explores Circular Economy concepts that transform the urban built environment to be more sustainable, inclusive, and future-ready. Circular Economy concepts are well suited to the building and construction sector in cities. For example, refurbishing and adaptively reusing underutilized or abandoned buildings can revitalize neighborhoods whilst achieving environmental benefits. New business models promote building materials sourced from biomass or recovered construction wastes in order to replace fossil-fuel-intensive building materials. In addition, cultural heritage buildings are modified to reflect the new needs of communities whilst increasing public access to icons of unique local cultures. Nevertheless, today these examples are primarily niche interventions. The research challenges, both theoretical and practical, are how to apply and scale-up circular economy models for the urban landscape. With an STS perspective on the issue, we look beyond the barriers and drivers of certain technological solutions to a broader societal concept. We ask the overarching question ``Is the Circular Economy able to transform the built environment in cities?”

KEYWORDS: circular economy, urban sustainability, building and construction, adaptive reuse, cultural heritage

Here you find more information about the H2020 research project CLIC: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/212930/factsheet/en