Data for Circular Cities: The Case of Circular Timber Hubs in Amsterdam

What is the role of space int he transition to a circular economy? In this video, Tanya explains the importance of data, but also the need to further elaborate and translate this data before making any decisions.

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Main Takeaways

  • Over the past decade, spatial data on materials have become increasingly available, especially for the built environment. All this data can be used by governments or large companies to make spatial planning decisions for the circular transition.

  • The Amsterdam case of establishing circular construction hubs represents an example of how data can lead to valuable insights. However, qualitative analysis of spatial data is a necessary step to making informed decisions.

Further Reading

Author

Tanya Tsui
Tanya Tsui
Postdoc Researcher

Tanya Tsui is a postdoctoral researcher at MIT Senseable City Amsterdam. She focuses on circular economy and sustainable urban development, using spatial data and urban metabolism to optimize material and waste flows in cities. Tanya’s work includes calculating housing emissions in the Netherlands, modeling circular construction hubs, and analyzing waste reuse patterns. She has contributed to EU projects, organized events on circular economy monitoring, and developed methods to support circular urban planning. Tanya applies her expertise in spatial data science to create practical solutions for more sustainable cities.

Circularity for Educators

The platform is intended to provide with content on either circularity or pedagogy for and about circularity. It is one of the outcomes of the Circular Impulse Initiative (CII), a project intending to enhance the integration of circularity in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment education. The platform mainly aims to help tutors get better acquainted with circularity in the built environment by providing a series of resources on this subject that they can either view to get better informed or directly share with their students in class or online. A large number of the Faculty's professors and researchers have contributed substantially both in creating a coherent narrative for circularity in the built environment as well as further elaborating on different aspects of it. Besides this one, a new platform for interaction and direct exchange was also established in parallel that we call ‘Educators for Circularity‘. This one offers the opportunity for all of us to meet and share our experiences and learn from one another.

Visit Educators for Circularity