How does space matter? On the importance of embedding spatialities in industrial ecology frameworks for circularity in the built environment

Abstract

This paper explores the critical role of spatiality and scale in industrial ecology (IE) research to promote circularity within the built environment. Traditional IE frameworks are predominantly a-spatial and a-political, overlooking the complex socio-ecological–technological dynamics of urban–regional environments. This gap limits the development of holistic assessments and effective strategies for circularity, often externalizing political, economic, and societal implications. In this paper, we emphasize the need to integrate diverse spatial entities, such as social actors, natural resources, and infrastructure, into IE frameworks. Drawing on recent developments within the IE community (including insights from the ISIE 2023 conference) we demonstrate how multiple spatialities and politics are already integral to several areas of IE research and practice, such as circularity accounting and industrial symbiosis. We highlight how spatial concepts—such as urbanization patterns, geographic features, territory, place, and actor-networks—reveal context-specific drivers and barriers to circular transformation. We then leverage the concept of scales established across spatial sciences to introduce a typology of scales relevant to IE, and identify which scale types have yet to be operationalized in IE research. Given the potential analytical yield of each scale type, we advocate for a reflective multi-scalar approach to incorporate multiple spatialities into IE research. Ultimately, we call for a spatial turn in re-conceptualizing IE tools to support the transformation of the built environment toward circularity.