Abstract Body

The aim is to advance highly circular built cities. This is achieved by attaining the five sub-aims. (1) Redefining a city into multiple sets of eight arenas. A built city consists of buildings and infrastructures that are divided into residential, commercial, industrial, and public sectors according to purposes and types. In turn, Porter’s (1979, 2008) five forces framework is extended into a set of eight arenas that accommodate buildings and infrastructures within each sector or one sub-sector. In Arena 1, users are exploiting buildings and infrastructures. In Arena 2, owners are managing buildings and infrastructures over periods of ownership. In Arena 3, providers offer services for managing the life-cycles of buildings and infrastructures. In Arena 4, investors are realizing (renewing) new (old) buildings and infrastructures. Arena 5, wholes contractors are realizing complete buildings and infrastructures, and in Arena 6, designers are crafting solutions for and contractors are realizing parts. In Arena 7, manufacturers are delivering products, sub-structures, and construction machinery. In Arena 8, suppliers are producing materials. The transformation is required by city governments and authorities under legislation on circular cities. The transformation is enabled by innovation, technologies, and funding. (2) Designing alternative routes that causally connect backward and forward each arena with the other ones. Backward, the procurers of inputs set highly circular objectives and specify procurement criteria. Forward, the marketers of outputs set highly circular objectives and specify fact-based arguments. (3) Assessing the effectiveness of each route for the boosting of high circularity. The criteria of effectiveness are specified, coupled with benchmarks for highly effective routes coupling arenas. (4) Planning a transformation program, jointly by stakeholders. The phases include (i) the assessment of the current degrees of circularity, (ii) the setting of the timeline and goals, (iii) the motivation of owners and users to develop buildings and infrastructures into the circular ones, and (iv) to motivation of developers, contractors, designers, and other stakeholders to offer solutions for the development of the same. (5) Discussing this transformation and putting conclusions on the realization of 8-arena transformations within cities across the globe.