The Nexus between Market Needs and Value Attributes of Smart City Solutions towards Energy Transition. An Empirical Evidence of Two European Union (EU) Smart Cities, Evora and Alkmaar

Giourka, Paraskevi; Apostolopoulos, Vasilis; Angelakoglou, Komninos; Kourtzanidis, Konstantinos; Νikolopoulos, Nikos; Sougkakis, Vasileios; Fuligni, Federica; Barberis, S.; Verbeek, Karin; Costa, José Miguel; Formiga, João

doi:10.3390/smartcities3030032

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The use of smart technology is a critical enabler in the move to circularity. The use of smart technologies allows for openness and exchange of information regarding re-usable components, thus making it a critical enabler of CE for the sustainable development of CI [125]. The product life cycle extension is also important in CE implementation [126].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Step towards Sustainable Development

et al. 2022

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Construction is a resource-intensive industry where a circular economy (CE) is essential to minimize global impacts and conserve natural resources. A CE achieves long-term sustainability by enabling materials to circulate along the critical supply chains. Accordingly, recent research has proposed a paradigm shift towards CE-based sustainability. However, uncertainties caused by fluctuating raw material prices, scarce materials, increasing demand, consumers’ expectations, lack of proper waste infrastructure, and the use of wrong recycling technologies all lead to complexities in the construction industry (CI). This research paper aims to determine the enablers of a CE for sustainable development in the CI. The system dynamics (SD) approach is utilized for modeling and simulation purposes to address the associated process complexity. First, using content analysis of pertinent literature, ten enablers of a CE for sustainable development in CI were identified. Then, causality among these enablers was identified via interviews and questionnaire surveys, leading to the development of the causal loop diagram (CLD) using systems thinking. The CLD for the 10 shortlisted enablers shows five reinforcing loops and one balancing loop. Furthermore, the CLD was used to develop an SD model with two stocks: “Organizational Incentive Schemes” and “Policy Support.” An additional stock (“Sustainable Development”) was created to determine the combined effect of all stocks. The model was simulated for five years. The findings show that policy support and organizational incentive schemes, among other enablers, are critical in implementing a CE for sustainable development in CI. The outcomes of this study can help CI practitioners to implement a CE in a way that drives innovation, boosts economic growth, and improves competitiveness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Step towards Sustainable Development

et al. 2022

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“…Such a system must incorporate good governance, sound institutions, proactive policies, economic affordability, environmental efficiency, social acceptability, and public participation, where citizens can communicate and take part in planning, monitoring, and other decision‐making processes (Gue et al, 2022; Shekdar, 2009). Systems must be market oriented, with flexibility for continued improvement, and tailored to community needs on a case‐by‐case basis (Batista et al, 2021; Giourka et al, 2020; Shekdar, 2009). Sustainable systems must also initiate collective actions, promote transparent decisions, and provide free access to information (Tremblay & Gutberlet, 2010).…”

Section: Research Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solid waste management in the context of the waste hierarchy and circular economy frameworks: An international critical review

Awino

Apitz²

2023

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Growing populations and consumption drive the challenges of solid waste management (SWM); globalization of transport, food production, and trade, including waste trading, distributes risks worldwide. Using waste hierarchy (WH; reduce, reuse, and recycle) and circular economy (CE) concepts, we updated a conceptual waste framework used by international organizations to evaluate SWM practices. We identified the key steps and the important factors, as well as stakeholders, which are essential features for effective SWM. Within this updated conceptual framework, we qualitatively evaluated global SWM strategies and practices, identifying opportunities, barriers, and best practices. We find that, although a few exceptional countries exhibit zero‐waste compliance, most fare poorly, as exhibited by the high waste generation, incineration, and disposal (open dumping, landfilling) volumes. In the Global North, SWM strategies and practices rely heavily on technologies, economic tools, regulatory frameworks, education, and social engagement to raise stakeholder awareness and enhance inclusion and participation; in the Global South, however, many governments take sole legal responsibility for SWM, seeking to eliminate waste as a public “nuisance.” Separation and recycling in the Global South are implemented mainly by “informal” economies in which subsistence needs drive recyclable material retrieval. Imported, regionally inappropriate tools, economic constraints, weak policies and governance, waste trading, noninclusive stakeholder participation, data limitations, and limited public awareness continue to pose major waste and environmental management challenges across nations. In the context of the framework, we conclude that best practices from around the world can be used to guide decision‐making, globally. Despite variations in drivers and needs across regions, nations in both the Global North and South need to improve WH and CE compliance, and enhance stakeholder partnership, awareness, and participation throughout the SWM process. Partnerships between the Global North and South could better manage traded wastes, reduce adverse impacts, and enhance global environmental sustainability and equity, supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;00:1–27. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

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“…The data for the temporal scale of the projects are only available for very few projects. Due to this insufficient information, external sources, such as the website/publication of the specific project, have been studied and reviewed in order to collect more detailed information [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42].…”

Section: Data Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Positive Energy District (PED) through a Preliminary Review of 60 Existing Projects in Europe

et al. 2021

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Positive Energy District (PED) is recently proposed to be an integral part of a district/urban energy system with a corresponding positive influence. Thus, the PED concept could become the key solution to energy system transition towards carbon neutrality. This paper intends to report and visualize the initial analytical results of 60 existing PED projects in Europe about their main characteristics, including geographical information, spatial-temporal scale, energy concepts, building archetypes, finance source, keywords, finance model and challenges/barriers. As a result, a dedicated date base is developed and it could be further expanded/interoperated through an interactive dashboard. It is found that Norway and Italy have the most PED projects so far. Many PED projects state a ‘yearly’ time scale while nearly 1/3 projects have less than 0.2 km2 area in terms of spatial scale. The private investment together with regional/national grants is commonly observed. A mixture of residential, commercial and office/social buildings are found. The most common renewable energy systems include solar energy, district heating/cooling, wind and geothermal energy. Challenges and barriers for PED related projects vary from the planning stage to the implementation stage. Furthermore, the text mining approach is applied to examine the keywords or concentrations of PED-related projects at different stages. These preliminary results are expected to give useful guidance for future PED definitions and proposals of ‘reference PED’.

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The Nexus between Market Needs and Value Attributes of Smart City Solutions towards Energy Transition. An Empirical Evidence of Two European Union (EU) Smart Cities, Evora and Alkmaar

Cited by 13 publications

References 34 publications

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Step towards Sustainable Development

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Step towards Sustainable Development

Solid waste management in the context of the waste hierarchy and circular economy frameworks: An international critical review

Characterizing Positive Energy District (PED) through a Preliminary Review of 60 Existing Projects in Europe

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