The accelerating climate crisis, coupled with fragmented urbanization and unsustainable land use, challenges traditional planning paradigms and calls for systemic and regenerative approaches. This research introduces the concept of “planning for circularity” as a strategic framework to reinterpret wastelands—not as marginal voids, but as active components of a new territorial metabolism. Through the integration of circular economy, urban metabolism, and circular soil management, the study explores how planning can transform spatial fragmentation and land abandonment into opportunities for ecological and socio-economic rebalancing. Rather than proposing fixed solutions, it offers a conceptual and operational rethinking of territorial planning based on adaptive, systemic, and place-sensitive approaches. The research develops along two complementary directions. The first is a critical analysis of the legacy of linear planning and the emergence of circular and metabolic paradigms, advocating a shift from expansionist logics to spatial re-integration. The second consists of a comparative reading of six European experiences (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, London, Stockholm, and Prato), focusing on how cities are experimenting with regulatory tools, planning strategies, and governance mechanisms to address the regeneration of disused spaces. What emerges is that circular regeneration does not unfold spontaneously but depends on a set of enabling conditions—normative flexibility, strategic visioning, integrative planning tools, and soil-sensitive approaches—that allow urban voids to be re-embedded within dynamic territorial processes. These practices contribute to advancing a regenerative planning culture aligned with key Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 15. Ultimately, planning for circularity is proposed not merely as a technique for managing land or resources, but as a transformative orientation of planning itself—capable of reconfiguring the relationship between space, use, and value, and of opening new paths toward equitable and sustainable urban futures.
Regenerative planning and territorial transitions: Reimagining wastelands for circular urban futures
Elena Ferraioli
2025-01-01
Abstract
The accelerating climate crisis, coupled with fragmented urbanization and unsustainable land use, challenges traditional planning paradigms and calls for systemic and regenerative approaches. This research introduces the concept of “planning for circularity” as a strategic framework to reinterpret wastelands—not as marginal voids, but as active components of a new territorial metabolism. Through the integration of circular economy, urban metabolism, and circular soil management, the study explores how planning can transform spatial fragmentation and land abandonment into opportunities for ecological and socio-economic rebalancing. Rather than proposing fixed solutions, it offers a conceptual and operational rethinking of territorial planning based on adaptive, systemic, and place-sensitive approaches. The research develops along two complementary directions. The first is a critical analysis of the legacy of linear planning and the emergence of circular and metabolic paradigms, advocating a shift from expansionist logics to spatial re-integration. The second consists of a comparative reading of six European experiences (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, London, Stockholm, and Prato), focusing on how cities are experimenting with regulatory tools, planning strategies, and governance mechanisms to address the regeneration of disused spaces. What emerges is that circular regeneration does not unfold spontaneously but depends on a set of enabling conditions—normative flexibility, strategic visioning, integrative planning tools, and soil-sensitive approaches—that allow urban voids to be re-embedded within dynamic territorial processes. These practices contribute to advancing a regenerative planning culture aligned with key Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 15. Ultimately, planning for circularity is proposed not merely as a technique for managing land or resources, but as a transformative orientation of planning itself—capable of reconfiguring the relationship between space, use, and value, and of opening new paths toward equitable and sustainable urban futures.
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