Circular Economy and the City - Theory and Practice Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Overview

In this Circular Economy and the City - Theory and Practice course delivered by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam you will participate in active and creative workshops and excursions, and you attend lectures from experts about the essentials of the Circular Economy, how it tackles social and ecological problems, and which innovations in business, policy, and civil society are important for the Circular Economy. We will pay special attention to how human and non-human beings can live together in urban environments, with real-world examples from the city of Amsterdam.

Key Facts

To transition towards the Circular Economy, this course empowers you to apply the insights of experts and professionals on circular business and policy, and it motivates you with examples from art and the experimental spirit of the city. From Monday to Friday, the course offers morning lectures, excursions, and workshops. Next to lectures from academic experts we will also be taught by frontrunners in circular business, policy and civil society. To rethink our relationship with nature, we will engage in shinrin-yoku, a Japanese practice of embedding in nature. To broaden our scope of action we will visit a zooperative, a novel organizational form where human an non-human beings cooperate for mutual benefit. You will also be invited to seek out other examples of circularity such as Repair Cafés, community gardens, green roofs, or waste management facilities. 

At the end of this course you will have learned and shaped what the circular economy is and what it may be in the near future. The course draws on previous work conducted by the (guest) lecturers as part of a community focusing on people at the heart of circularity in the symbiotic city. This community consists of researchers and professionals and was kick-started by Het Groene Brein.