Following an extensive mapping of each of the four CIRCuIT cities’ material data ecosystems, a new report, State of the art on material flow data in the built environment, has been published and is now available to view here.
The CIRCuIT project intends to demonstrate how circular construction approaches including urban mining, life extension of buildings, and circular design in new construction can be scaled and replicated across Europe. The first step, however, is to develop a robust understanding of the current situation in terms of the existing stocks and flows of built environment materials. Identifying and harnessing data is therefore essential: Where do materials come from? Where can they be found in the building stock? Where do they go? How circular are material flows currently? At scale, such data will allow analyses upon which methodologies, digital tools, policies and key performance indicators may be based.
With this in mind, the CIRCuIT project undertook an extensive mapping exercise of the existing ‘material data ecosystems’ of London, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Vantaa/Helsinki region to assess the present situation in terms of useable data to support circular action. To begin with, the potential routes taken by a material during its life cycle were explored to determine potential data capture points and identify stakeholders that may have access to relevant data.
Once the city data ecosystem mapping was complete the results were assessed in terms of completeness, accessibility, granularity, up-to-dateness, accuracy and standardisation. Overall, the data captured was often found to be inconsistent in quality with little transparency in the collection and analytical techniques used. Despite this, a range of opportunities were identified that demonstrate how available data could be leveraged to support urban circular economies.
The next report from within the data mapping workstream will build on this one to present recommendations for the capture and utilisation of data in relation to creating a circular economy in the built environment. Stakeholder engagement will also take place to understand which are the best practices across the cities. If you would like to know more about this report or take part in the stakeholder engagement please contact Ben Cartwright: Ben.Cartwright@bregroup.com