A master thesis from Aalborg University
Circular Aalborg: How can redevelopments serve the transitioning of Aalborg into a circular city?
Author(s)
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-06-04
Pages
125 pages
Abstract
Cities which are working as growth engines are largely responsible for the environmental crisis. As a reaction, cities are setting an ambitious goal to transition into sustainable cities. This paper takes transitioning to a circular city as a strategy that is essential to reach such an objective. Focusing on the case of Aalborg, the research aims to gain an understanding on what the city could do to unlock the potential in redevelopments to support a sustainable transition rather than growth strategies through asking the question: \textit{How can redevelopments serve the transitioning of Aalborg into a circular city?} Through the use of literature review, interviews and document analysis the research reveals the efforts that have been found on each level of a multi-level perspective to transition towards a circular city and what is yet to be done to further the circular city status. Next, the report discusses how redevelopments could contribute to the transition through the investigation and evaluation of two contrasting redevelopments in the city. On one the hand is Karolinelund, a public redevelopment with a strong focus on the creation of a natural regenerative environment. On the other hand is Spritten, a private waterfront redevelopment with a focus on housing and culture. Finally, the report concludes that redevelopments can be used as a tool for circular transition in two ways. First of all, they provide an opportunity for a variety of circular actions, second they can serve as tools which help overcome obstacles of the transition. More specifically, there was found to be a lack of adapt actions taken in the city, which are essential to increase the flexibility of the urban fabric and decrease the dependency on outdated infrastructures. Redevelopments are found to be the perfect tool to introduce adaptability into the city's physical structure, yet are found to serve growth strategy primarily and the sustainability strategy secondarily.
Keywords
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