Urban-CoLLaR
Co-creating Urban Living Labs for Circular Regenerative Neighbourhoods

- Category
- Project
- Call
- DUT Call 2023
- Duration
- –
- Project coordinator
- Bilkent University
The urbanization trend in European Union and widening countries such as Türkiye calls for an urban renewal movement, including developing new urban areas to accommodate housing facilities and services and regenerating existing urban areas. Yet, urban renewal projects pose trade-offs impacting both environmental and socio-economic aspects. Current research on resource efficiency in buildings follows the Circular Economy (CE) concept. The practical implementation of CE at the neighbourhood is an under researched topic, that has been rarely addressed in a transnational-way. There is a need to:
• Increase circular practices at urban level
• Develop comprehensive analytical instruments
• Harmonize and standardize assessment methods
• Adopt co-creative approaches
Currently, there is no consensus on how to assess circularity in urban renewal projects. The existing instruments remain local and cannot focus on the multi-layered structure of neighbourhoods encompassing both environmental and socio-economic resources. There is a need to integrate technical and socio-economic expertise to unlock solutions that are co-created with all relevant stakeholders.
The Urban-CoLLaR project aims at accelerating circular and regenerative urban renewal at the neighbourhood scale and formulate the following objectives:
• To develop a common understanding of circularity principles and solutions at the neighbourhood scale.
• To identify existing environmental and socio-economic resources and related indicators to be optimized and/or recirculated in urban renewal and development projects.
• To measure the environmental and socio-economic benefits of circular solutions implemented in urban renewal and development of neighbourhoods.
• To support the participation of key stakeholders relevant to the co-creation of circular neighbourhoods.
The project develops a decision-making instrument for municipalities and developers to design and implement circular solutions. It introduces new indicators to assess circularity, validated through co-creation workshops and tested in Urban Living Labs (ULLs) across diverse European contexts (Türkiye, Belgium, Italy). The research combines technical analysis (e.g. life cycle assessment) with participatory, stakeholder-driven approaches to ensure practical, inclusive, and scalable outcomes.
Urban-CoLLaR generates long-term impact, by fostering circularity in urban neighbourhood renewal. The decision-making instrument and validated indicators are designed to help municipalities make informed, sustainable choices, leading to more efficient use of energy, materials, and water. Social benefits include stronger stakeholder collaboration and increased awareness of circular practices through participatory processes.
The following results are expected:
• A mapping system to identify existing environmental and socio-economic resources at the neighbourhood/urban scale relevant for the urban renewal and development projects.
• A set of user-friendly environmental and socio-economic indicators to assess the benefits of circular solutions, tested and validated through the case studies proposed by the consortium.
• ULLs to serve as real-world testing grounds, promoting local innovation and capacity building among municipalities and developers.
By creating a scalable framework, Urban-CoLLaR contributes to systemic change across European cities, advancing the transition to carbon-neutral, resource-efficient, and community-oriented urban environments.
Belgium
Italy
The Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Türkiye
Çankaya Municipality, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, Plusvalue Italy Srl Societa Benefit, Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi), Scoala Nationala de Studii Politice si Administrative (SNSPA), The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS), Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy we Wroclawiu (UPWR)
Comune di Rho, Stad Brugge, Stad Leuven
Contact
Nuri Cihan Kayaçetin
cihan.kayacetin@bilkent.edu.tr