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Dr Jo Williams wins Regional Studies Association Policy Expo Grant
18 February 2022
BSP’s Dr Jo Williams and a team from TU delft have won the grant for their circular cities project.
About the grant:
In 2017 the Regional Studies Association launched a new policy research initiative worth £15,000 to successful teams aiming to connect their work and wider communities to societal questions and policy needs.
About the project:
Going circular: unlocking the potential of regions and cities to drive the circular economy transition
Circular Economy (CE) becomes a central tenet of sustainability policies at different governmental levels, however, it goes largely under the radar of regional and urban studies scholars. The implications of CE transitions for regions and cities are seldom critically analysed, whereas the emerging CE policies tend to ignore the spatial and governance issues, at risk of failing to tap into the potential of CE as a catalyst for sustainable regional and urban futures. This work bridges that gap by proposing a holistic perspective on CE using a spatial lens. This allows for (i) exploring what ‘going circular’ will entail for regions and cities in terms of decision-making, socio-economic, or environmental challenges; and (ii) shedding light on the socio-economic, environmental and regenerative potentials that CE transitions offer. It gathers critical perspectives on CE implications for regions and cities, while formulating clear policy recommendations and setting an agenda for future research.