Circular Economy Strategies in French Urban Renewal Projects : Exploring Opportunities and Challenges within the ANRU Framework

Sammanfattning

The construction sector, deeply entrenched in a linear model of resource extraction, consumption, and disposal, significantly contributes to environmental degradation. In response, the circular economy paradigm has emerged as a key alternative. Given their high resource intensity, large-scale urban development projects call for a reconfiguration of their material flows. These interventions offer a strategic opportunity to develop closed loops at a fine spatial scale. This study explores the development of circular economy strategies for construction and demolition materials in French urban renewal projects led by the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRU). A qualitative research design is adopted, combining a literature review, document analysis, ten semi-structured interviews, a site visit and participant observation. Following a contextual analysis of the ANRU Framework, two case studies of NPNRU projects in the Est Ensemble area are examined. The literature review engages with conceptual approaches to the circular economy in the built environment and identifies urban metabolism as a key theoretical concept at the macro scale. The subsequent analysis is informed by this framework, complemented by the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP). The empirical results first identify opportunities associated with intense material flows and conditions conducive to innovation, as well as barriers related to the spatial, temporal and material characteristics of this specific context. The case studies further reveal key implementation mechanisms, particularly financial instruments, physical platforms, and monitoring tools. Finally, the findings point to conditions for scaling up circular practices, including institutional changes, enhanced synergies and a broader paradigm shift in urban production. In brief, this thesis contributes to both the literature on circular economy in the built environment and to research on ANRU projects. The integration of circular economy theory with empirical evidence highlights the potential of these urban renewal programmes in the transition to a circular regime, while also acknowledging the diverse associated limitations.