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Circular cities: the case of Singapore

Sann Carrière (So Now, Singapore, Singapore)
Ricardo Weigend Rodríguez (Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK)
Peixun Pey (So Now, Singapore, Singapore)
Francesco Pomponi (Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK)
Seeram Ramakrishna (Circular Economy Task Force, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore)

Built Environment Project and Asset Management

ISSN: 2044-124X

Article publication date: 17 July 2020

Issue publication date: 4 September 2020

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Abstract

Purpose

Circular economy (CE), as a new economic paradigm, has gained traction in recent years. Cities' role in driving CE forward has been perceived as being increasingly important to achieve sustainable development (SD). For this reason, there is an urgency to understand what a circular city is and how it might be composed. This research explores the ways in which the city-state of Singapore is transitioning to a CE.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review on CE and cities was carried out using a bibliometric review and a snowballing technique. This review was performed on academic and on non-academic papers.

Findings

This research has confirmed the lack of robust circular cities case studies. As Singapore has already begun its journey towards circularity, this article examines its current efforts and offers recommendations in the design and implementation of CE policies that may be valuable not just for Singapore but also for high-density and rapidly expanding cities around the world that require a new development pathway to emulate.

Originality/value

This manuscript is the first detailed, independent and comprehensive review of Singapore's approach to CE.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Grateful thanks to Leo Woods for proofreading the final version of the manuscript. The second author acknowledges PhD scholarship by CONACYT‐ Alianza FiiDEM.

Citation

Carrière, S., Weigend Rodríguez, R., Pey, P., Pomponi, F. and Ramakrishna, S. (2020), "Circular cities: the case of Singapore", Built Environment Project and Asset Management, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 491-507. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-12-2019-0137

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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