Circular Urban Economies Projects
The following projects have been suggested for funding in the Circular Urban Economies (CUE)Transition Pathway in the DUT Call 2023.
3.1 The built environment as a resource base
CABE – Circular Approaches for the Built Environment
CABE seeks to revolutionise urban sustainability by repurposing construction waste into valuable resources. Through innovative digital tools and pilot projects, it aims to reduce pollution, lower costs, and foster job creation, ensuring a greener future for urban areas.
Project coordinator: Zurcher Hochschule Fur Angewandte Wissenschaften
Participating countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey
CirCoCreation – Closing the gaps between stakeholders for successful and sustainable urban Circular Construction initiatives through Co-creation
CirCoCreation aims to enhance urban sustainability by fostering citizen involvement in circular construction practices. It seeks to establish a cohesive ecosystem, leveraging living labs for co-creation and developing metrics to track and inspire material reuse.
Project coordinator: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Participating countries: Belgium, France, Spain, Sweden
DECUB – Decarbonizing Urban Blocks. An integrated approach for circular urban regeneration
By focusing on circularity, DECUB tests varied scenarios for urban renewal, balancing technical, social, and economic factors to maximise material reuse and recycling. This approach aims to achieve sustainable transformation while respecting each block’s unique characteristics and values.
Project coordinator: Fundacion Universidad San Jorge
Participating countries: Belgium, France, Netherlands, Spain
3.2 Knowledge and optimisation of resources flows between urban and rural areas
No project focus solely on this topic.
3.3 Planning and designing urban areas with nature: towards a regenerative urbanism
EDITUA – an innovative interactive incubator of socio-spatial change fostering green urban regeneration, employing AI in gain of the public democracy
The project will develop a tool named EDITUA, serving EDITing Urban Assets, to provide ecologically-oriented improvement strategies by transforming vacant urban interiors. This tool will enable stakeholders to shape eco-friendly urban areas through intuitive digital interaction.
Project coordinator: Politechnika Poznanska
Participating countries: Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, United States
MAINCODE – MAINstreaming nature to CO-DEsign urban climate shelters in schoolyards
MAINC0DE aims to transform schoolyards into Urban Climate Shelters, enhancing resilience to extreme heat. Through co-design with communities and Nature-based Solutions, it seeks to foster environmental justice and well-being. This project will develop and test a methodology in Turin and Halandri, targeting Urban Heat Island mitigation and open access to green spaces, contributing to regenerative urbanism and social cohesion.
Project coordinator: Politecnico Di Torino
Participating countries: Denmark, Greece, Italy
Urban ElemenTREE – Data-driven approach and management platforms as the basis for the smart development of the urban tree canopy
Urban ElemenTREE aims to enhance urban greening by standardising tree-related environmental practices. Utilising Urban Living Labs in five diverse cities, it will develop a digital platform to optimise urban planning with comprehensive tree metrics.
Project coordinator: Politechnika Gdanska
Participating countries: Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Sweden
CUE projects addressing multiple Call topics
aRTes – Active RoofTops South Europe (3.1; 3.3; 2.1)
Rooftops represent a largely untapped resource within the urban infrastructure of Southern European cities. This project addresses the primary obstacles to rooftop adaptation, devising novel design and engineering solutions for widespread prototyping and testing, aiming to lower the costs of rooftop transformations.
Project coordinator: Universidad Politecnica De Madrid
Participating countries: Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain
B_Green – Biodiversity & Green in Mediterranean Historic Cities (3.3; 3.1)
B_Green tackles climate vulnerability and biodiversity loss by reimagining Mediterranean historic cities as hubs of health and wellbeing. Utilising a multidisciplinary approach, it aligns with the EU’s Biodiversity strategy to reintegrate nature into urban life, enhancing urban biodiversity through innovative, data-driven solutions.
Project coordinator: Universitat Jaume I De Castellon
Participating countries: Cyprus, Italy, Portugal, Spain
NATURGO – Nature Based Solutions and Urban Governance (3.3; 3.2)
The NATURGO project is dedicated to strategically integrating nature-based solutions (NBS) into urban water landscapes, aiming to reshape city governance for long-term ecological benefits. It will conduct in-depth research, collaborating with city officials and stakeholders to develop innovative water management strategies that incorporate NBS.
Project coordinator: Ivl Svenska Miljoeinstitutet
Participating countries: Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden
Urban-CoLLaR – Co-creating Urban Living Labs for Circular Regenerative Neighbourhoods (3.1; 1.2)
This initiative is dedicated to advancing circular strategies in urban redevelopment, aiming for zero emissions in construction by mid-century. It will craft a precise toolkit for municipalities and developers, focusing on the efficient reuse of local resources and fostering economic and cultural growth within communities. Engaging diverse stakeholders through hands-on urban labs, the project will pilot its innovative framework in social housing and public spaces.
Project coordinator: Bilkent Universitesi Vakif
Participating countries: Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Turkey