IMPORTANCE OF CITIES IN TRANSITION TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY
IMPORTANCE OF CITIES IN TRANSITION TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Summary/Abstract: The increasing pressure of excessive and inefficient use of natural resources on the ecosystem has revealed that the linear economy understanding is not sustainable. It is clear that there is a need for a structural change in resource flows. It is thought that a more sustainable economic order will be formed in case of transition to a circular economy. The circular economy phenomenon is constantly increasing at national and local level and various visions and strategies are developed in this direction. On the other hand, it can be evaluated that developing a uniform strategy will not be efficient due to the different characteristics of cities. It can be argued that cities and regions should prepare a roadmap for the transition, considering their own qualities and potentials. In this process, first, defining the stakeholders, establishing a circular economy vision with the support of the stakeholders and making strategic planning to achieve this vision constitute the main steps of this process. In this framework, it should be considered that local governments are local units with institutional capacity to organize related activities effectively. Especially developing relations between stakeholders and providing sustainable and efficient participation, ensuring circular economy awareness at the local level, carrying out various incentive programs are critical tasks that local governments should undertake. With this study, while evaluating the general framework of the circular economy, it is aimed to gain a holistic perspective to the subject by examining the circular economy applications in three cities of European Community.

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