The Role of Spatial Circular Planning in Urban Governance. A Set of Indicators to Evaluate Performance in Urban Regeneration

Cities are strategic places for development, but also places where many environmental, social, and economic problems arise. The scenario that by 2050 two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities confirms that cities will still be responsible for growing consumption and, consequently, for a significant production of waste. Within this worrying situation, the principles of the Circular Economy (recovery, recycling and sharing) offers the opportunity to rethink the way goods and services are produced and used, exploring new approaches to ensure long-term prosperity. These principles find direct application in energy planning and urban governance at different scales. In this framework, the manuscript proposes a methodology for the evaluation of a set of indicators capable of measuring the degree of circularity in the various urban scales (from small to extra large), with particular attention to energy performance.