The role given to citizens in shaping a circular city

Abstract

A circular city (CC) presents opportunities to address the urban nexus of citizens and material flows in a circular economy (CE). Still, the role of the citizen in shaping both CCs and CE is understudied. We start with a conceptual review of how the role of the citizen has been studied for CCs. There, we identify acknowledgment of the citizen as a political actor and subject to behavior change. We further investigate the role given to and expected from citizens in the case of the city of Trondheim in Norway, where the agendas and discourses of CE are already widespread. In this city, the role given to citizens is oriented towards commercial or political activity, with the local government playing a role in enabling citizens’ agency. We conclude that the local government can leverage a more politically oriented citizenship to support the public services and infrastructures needed.