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Knowledge category: Projects

constRuctive mEtabolic processes For materiaL flOWs in urban and peri-urban environments across Europe

Updated on 12.04.2023

REFLOW will create conditions for the public and private sector to adopt circular economy (CE) practices in urban areas. In six pilot cities, REFLOW will assess their social, environmental, and economic impact, and offer tools to implement CE in other cities. REFLOW will guide cities to adopt a CE model, with localised production and material flows, to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Acronym: REFLOW
Countries: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom
Project website: https://reflowproject.eu/
Start and end date: 01.06.2019 - 31.05.2022
Budget: 10 312 812 EUR
Funding source: Horizon 2020

More information

REFLOW’s aim to offer a new approach to CE in urban areas will be achieved by providing best practices in aligning market and government needs that will create favourable conditions for the public and private sector to adopt CE practices. Active citizen involvement and systemic change are needed to re-imagine the current approach. The six pilot cities that REFLOW will create CE business models within are Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Berlin (Germany), Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Milan (Italy), Paris (France), and Vejle (Denmark). In each of these pilot cities, citizens will be involved in the development and testing of circular products, software, and business models for their respective cities.
Moreover, REFLOW will make use of blockchain technologies to incentivise the circular practices in local ecosystems and data visualisation tools to enable continuous monitoring and optimisation of ‘urban metabolic’ processes with rapid interventions management. Networks of sensors, urban computing and geo-localisation will capture data ensuring accuracy, integrity, and interoperability of relevant data infrastructures, while data visualisation and standard templates will be available for effective communication, public consultation, and exchange of experiences.

Relevance for Circular Systemic Solutions

REFLOW’s vision is to develop circular and regenerative cities though the re-localisation of production and the reconfiguration of material flows at different scales. REFLOW aims to provide best practices that align market and government needs in order to create favourable conditions for the public and private sector to adopt circular principles. In this sense, the project is relevant for the local and regional authorities that seek to adopt holistic, innovative policies in each of the Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political (STEEP) aspects.
To this end, one of the most relevant outcomes of the project is the development of the REFLOW Collaborative Governance Toolkit (RCGT), which is a ‘how to’ resource conceived to support the design and development of collaborative governance arrangements for the transition to circular and regenerative cities. Another example is the Circular Citizens handbook that offers an overview of key recommendations based on the analysis of the activities undertaken by the six pilot cities of the REFLOW project in developing their own strategies related to citizen engagement. These and other relevant outcomes are presented in the Knowledge Hub, which has been developed over the course of the project, based on the project’s outputs and building blocks.

Horizon programme(s) and/or topic(s)

Programme(s):

  • H2020-EU.3.5.: SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials (Main programme)
  • H2020-EU.3.5.4.: Enabling the transition towards a green economy and society through eco-innovation
  • H2020-EU.3.5.2.: Protection of the environment, sustainable management of natural resources, water, biodiversity and ecosystems

 

Topic(s):

  • CE-SC5-03-2018: Demonstrating systemic urban development for circular and regenerative cities

Budget

€ 10 312 812.25 (EU contribution: € 9 794 935)

Responsible organisation and contact details

Copenhagen Business School

Contact the project: https://reflowproject.eu/contact/

Project consortium partners

  • Institut D'arquitectura Avancada De Catalunya
  • Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Forderung Der Angewandten Forschung eV
  • Politecnico Di Milano
  • Stichting Dyne org
  • Stichting Metabolic Institute
  • Materiom Limited
  • Mouazan Erwan 
  • Organosi Gia Tin Erevna Tin Tekmiriosi Kai Tin Proothisi Ton Omotimon Praktikon
  • Stichting Waag Society
  • Gemeente Amsterdam
  • Stichting Pakhuis De Zwijger
  • Brinks Management Advice/Techne B.V
  • Prototypes For Europe eV
  • Mcs Datalabs
  • Comune Di Milano, Wemake S.R.L.
  • Opendot SRL
  • Fab City Grand Paris
  • Ville De Paris
  • Ars Longa
  • Volumes
  • Vejle Kommune
  • Design Society Fond
  • Municipiul Cluj-Napoca
  • Filiala Transilvania A Asociatiei Romane Pentru Industria Electronica Si De Software
  • Institutul National De Cercetare-Dezvoltare Pentru Tehnologii Izotopice Si Moleculare-Incdtim Cluj-Napoca
  • Berliner Wasserbetriebe
Sectors

CEAP2 key product value chain

CEAP2 key product value chain

CEAP2 key product value chain

e.g. electrical engineering, furniture and interior, textile and fashion

e.g. B2B services

e.g. healthcare

Territories involved

large 500 000-200 000, medium 200 000-50 000, and small cities 50 000-5 000

Intra-territorial areas

e.g. commercial, residential, service, industrial