Circular Cities: Transforming Systems through Organizational Innovation

Abstract

This special issue focuses on cities as accelerators of circular, regenerative innovation. Cities, which account for over 70% of global energy use, serve as living labs where experiments across numerous problem domains such as food, energy, construction, and waste can contribute to global climate management efforts. The circular economy enables a transition from take-make-waste logic toward circular regenerative practice—but such a paradigm shift necessitates novel technological solutions and new policy approaches from governments, organizations, entrepreneurs, and civilians. These articles highlight how organizational and entrepreneurial innovations can encourage urban stakeholders to incorporate circular, regenerative, and restorative strategies for systems-level transformation.