topos 135 | circularity in cities

Sustainability has become one of the defining ambitions of our time. Yet while cities set climate targets and measure emissions with increasing precision, they continue to consume vast amounts of materials, demolish buildings and replace products at an accelerating pace. We talk about efficiency, but often overlook the resources that are lost along the way.
This issue of topos explores a question that is becoming increasingly urgent: What if true sustainability is not only about reducing carbon emissions, but also about reducing waste? Circularity in Cities examines how urban environments can preserve value rather than constantly replacing it. From adaptive reuse projects and circular construction methods to innovative approaches in design, manufacturing and resource management, the stories in this issue reveal how cities can become more resilient by keeping materials, buildings and infrastructure in circulation for longer. They remind us that the future of urban sustainability may not depend on consuming less, but on wasting less—and on learning how to build prosperity that lasts.

Topics

• THE GREAT MISCALCULATION
  An Introduction by Tobias Hager
• "DON'T SCALE UP, SPREAD OUT"
  Interview with Marieke van Doorninck
• HOLY SHIFT
  From sacred buildings to shared urban space
• "WE'VE ALREADY MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS"
  Interview with Dirk Hebel
• SOCIAL POWER THROUGH SOLAR POWER
  How solar light reshapes everyday urban life in Windhoek
• "MAKING A REPAIR IS OFTEN THE STARTING POINT OF A MINDSET SHIFT"
  Interview with Martine Postma
• THE FUTURE HUMS
  Insects, organic waste, and the rise of a circular bioeconomy
• "KEEP AS MANY MATERIALS AS POSSIBLE IN THE CYCLE"
  Interview with Julia Schütz
• FROM OLD STRUCTURES TO NEW USES
  Urban mining and material reuse in cities
• "WE ARE MERELY GUESTS ON THIS EARTH"
  Interview with Sabine Oberhuber
• THE METABOLIC QUARTER
  Circular systems in Hammarby Sjöstad
• PALACE FOR THE MANY
  Spatial inequality and urban reuse
• CONTRIBUTORS