Urban Upcycling Ecosystems: A Place-Based Governance of Circular Ecosystems

Similar to many other member states of the European Union, the Netherlands aims to become achieve 100% circular economy (CE) by 2050. To do so, they have stimulated several initiatives to transition towards circularity. There is a small but growing researcher interest in the concept of collaborative ecosystems for a circular economy. So far, little research has focused on the role of place in the governance of collaboration in place based circular ecosystems where different sector partners collaborate. This multiple-case study specifically looked at the role of location, material structures and flows, and the meaning of place, and how it affects the orchestration of CE urban ecosystems. The findings show that orchestrators and complementary actors in CE urban ecosystems are embedded in a nexus of material and social structures that enable and constrain collaborative identification and seizing of opportunities for circular value creation.