Circular economy and territorial resilience: strategies for sustainable resource management in emerging urban communities

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63688/desarrollo.v2.i1.11

Keywords:

circular economy, territorial resilience, urban sustainability, resource management.

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between the circular economy and territorial resilience as strategies for the sustainable management of resources in emerging urban communities. To achieve this objective, a descriptive, analytical, and critical literature review was conducted based on scientific publications issued between 2021 and 2025 in high-impact academic databases. The analysis identified the main conceptual approaches, implementation strategies, benefits, and challenges associated with integrating both paradigms into contemporary urban contexts. The findings showed that the circular economy contributed to optimizing resource use through reduction, reuse, recycling, and waste valorization practices, while territorial resilience strengthened the capacity of territories to adapt, recover, and transform in response to environmental, social, and economic disturbances. Furthermore, collaborative governance, technological innovation, integrated territorial planning, and citizen participation were identified as key factors in promoting sustainable transition processes. Among the main benefits observed were reduced vulnerabilities, improved resource-use efficiency, strengthened institutional capacities, and enhanced adaptive capacity within urban communities. However, challenges related to financial constraints, technological gaps, and weaknesses in evaluation mechanisms were also identified. It was concluded that the integration of circular economy principles and territorial resilience represents a strategic pathway for fostering more sustainable, inclusive, and adaptive cities capable of addressing the challenges of contemporary urban development.

References

Buzási, A., & Csizovszky, A. (2023). Urban sustainability and resilience: What the literature tells us about “lock-ins”? Ambio, 52(3), 616–630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01817-w

Cherrington, R., Manolchev, C., Edwards, K., Housni, I., & Alexander, A. (2024). Enabling circular economy practices in regional contexts: Insights from the UK Southwest. Local Economy, 39(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/14657503241236713

Kapoor, K., Amydala, N. S., Ambooken, A., & Scheinberg, A. (2023). Measuring circularity in cities: A review of the scholarly and grey literature in search of evidence-based, measurable and actionable indicators. Sustainability, 15(19), 14302. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914302

Moghadas, M., et al. (2023). Implementing urban resilience in urban planning: A comprehensive framework for urban resilience evaluation. Sustainable Cities and Society, 98, 104821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104821

Pancorbo Sandoval, J., Benítez Guarnizo, M., Anguiano Aldama, R., & Leyva Ricardo, S. (2024). Ciudad inteligente y ciudad circular: ¿Similares conceptos? Revista Científica Ecociencia, 10(0). https://doi.org/10.21855/ecociencia.100.850

Perricone, G., et al. (2025). Circular Cities: A systematic literature review of urban strategies for sustainable transitions. Sustainability, 18(6), 2980. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18062980

Ramos, R., & Royuela, V. (2021). Introduction to the Special Issue on “Territorial Resilience: Mitigation and Firms’ Adaptation”. International Regional Science Review, 44(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160017620975083

Sánchez, J. P. B., Ramos, F. O., & Reis, A. C. (2025). Revisión sistemática de la literatura: Un análisis de la confluencia de temas: economía circular y desarrollo territorial. Collectivus, Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.15648/Collectivus.vol12num2.2025.4781

Sharifi, A., et al. (2023). Resilience of urban social-ecological-technological systems (SETS): A review. Sustainable Cities and Society, 99, 104910. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104910

Silva, R., et al. (2023). Integrating resilience and sustainability: A systematic analysis of resilient cities using ISO 37123. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 96, 103960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103960

Therias, A., & Rafiee, A. (2023). City digital twins for urban resilience. International Journal of Digital Earth, 16(1), 4164–4190. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2023.2264827

Trippl, M., Fastenrath, S., & Isaksen, A. (2023). Rethinking regional economic resilience: Preconditions and processes shaping transformative resilience. European Urban and Regional Studies, 31(2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764231172326

Vanhuyse, F. (2024). The Urban Circularity Assessment Framework (UCAF): A framework for planning, monitoring, evaluation, and learning from CE transitions in cities. Circular Economy and Sustainability, 4, 1069–1092. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-023-00314-w

Vanhuyse, F., Haddaway, N. R., & Henrysson, M. (2021). Circular cities: An evidence map of research between 2010 and 2020. Discover Sustainability, 2(50). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-021-00059-2

Winslow, J., & Coenen, L. (2023). Sustainability transitions to circular cities: Experimentation between urban vitalism and mechanism. Cities, 142, 104531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104531

Published

2025-03-05

Issue

Section

Original

How to Cite

Circular economy and territorial resilience: strategies for sustainable resource management in emerging urban communities. (2025). Desarrollo Sostenible E Innovación Global, 2(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.63688/desarrollo.v2.i1.11