Taking Up Some Space
How Urban Space Use Supports Material Circularity in Outdoor Public Spaces
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22018158 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Quirien Reijtenbagh (0009-0005-5052-9660, Delft University of Technology), Hsinko Cinco Yu (0000-0002-4284-0679, Delft University of Technology), Daan Schraven (0000-0003-0647-1172, Delft University of Technology), Marian Bosch‐Rekveldt (0000-0001-9309-6352), Marian Bosch-Rekveldt (Delft University of Technology), Hilde Remøy (0000-0001-6911-0310, Delft University of Technology) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Urban Planning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2183-7635 • E-ISSN: 2183-7635 |
| Publisher | Cogitatio (PUBLISHER • PT) |
| DOI | 10.17645/up.11621 |
| OpenAlex | W7163046031 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
Circular urban design is vital for developing the urban environment amidst intense urbanization, resource depletion, and climate change. Recent studies indicate that using urban space effectively is a necessity to promote circularity in the built environment. Yet, so far, discussions on the use of space within the circular economy have hardly shown its value beyond financial terms and enabling the circularity of buildings. To better capture the non‐financial benefits and costs, this study uses a plural value perspective by means of a public sector circular business model lens. The model is applied to three cases of urban space use in the city of Amsterdam. In these cases, space is used for temporary storage and handling to facilitate material reuse in urban area maintenance and (re)development projects in outdoor public spaces. Our findings demonstrate that (temporary) use of urban space is a crucial resource to store materials and enable material circularity in outdoor public spaces. The findings show that more permanent use of urban space provides opportunities for value chain collaboration and professionalization of storage and handling, whereas shorter use of urban space can be utilized for temporary storage to orchestrate the reuse of materials locally. The (temporary) use of urban spaces enables reuse, repurpose, refurbish, repair, and/or remanufacture of materials and products applied in outdoor public spaces and can create public, social, environmental, and economic value. The findings guide project stakeholders, urban planners, and policy makers on how to unlock the value‐creating potential of (temporary) urban space use to create circular outdoor public spaces
Circular economy · Land use · Public space · Reuse · Urban design · Urban planning · Sustainable Building Design and Assessment · Sustainable Industrial Ecology · Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Circular cities
Building Theories from Case Study Research
Conceptualizing the circular economy
Circular cities
Six recommendations for a circular city. Pushing the sustainable urban transition forward
Avoiding Theoretical Stagnation
The Missing Link
Finding land for the circular economy
The role of spatial planning in transitioning to circular urban development
Circular Cities
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |