Urban metabolism as transition management tool for the circular economy? Study of a transition arena in urban planning

This research project is developed in collaboration with the innovation and foresight agency Creative Capital as part of a co-construction process for the master plan of a neighborhood in Quebec’s province, aiming to integrate circular economy principles into the built environment. To achieve this, the research team will use a transition arena, a mobilization and collaboration tool, to implement a workshop approach involving urban metabolism. This project aims to characterize and evaluate the use of urban metabolism as part of a transition arena approach in a real-world context. More specifically, it will attempt to 1) characterize the various applications of urban metabolism within urban planning processes focusing specifically on the built environment, and 2) to identify the characteristics and effects of integrating urban metabolism principles into different workshop phases of the transition arena.