When Circular Economy Meets the Smart City Ecosystem: Defining the Smart and Circular City

TL;DR

This paper proposes expanding the definition of smart cities to include circular economy principles, emphasizing sustainability, citizen-centricity, and leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies for innovative urban development.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of smart (and) circular cities, integrating circular economy into smart city frameworks and highlighting new research directions and challenges.

Findings

Smart and circular cities combine sustainability and smartness.

Industry 4.0 technologies can facilitate circular economy activities.

Open challenges include implementation and citizen engagement.

Abstract

Smart cities have been a very active research area in the past 20 years, while continuously adapting to new technological advancements and keeping up with the times regarding sustainability and climate change. In this context, there have been numerous proposals to expand the scope of smart cities, focusing on resilience and sustainability, among other aspects, resulting in terms like smart sustainable cities. At the same time, there is an ongoing discussion regarding the degree in which smart cities put people at their centre. In this work, we argue toward expanding the current smart city definition by integrating the circular economy as one of its central pillars and adopting the term smart (and) circular city. We discuss the ways a smart and circular city encompasses both sustainability and smartness in an integral manner, while also being well-positioned to foster novel business activity and models and helping to place citizens at the heart of the smart city. In this sense, we also argue that previous research in smart cities and technologies, such as those related to Industry 4.0, can serve as a cornerstone to implement circular economy activities within cities, at a scale that exceeds current activities that are based on more conventional approaches. We also outline current open challenges in this domain and research questions that still need to be addressed.