URGE circUlaR buildinG citiEs is a project which aims to develop circular economy policies in the building sector.As part of the project, the Municipality of Utrecht (NL) is in charge for the general management of the project, while the City of Prato was selected to participate in a new action plan of URBACT III, the European program that promotes a sustainable urban development. Thanks to URGE, the Municipality of Prato will develop a tool to measure the environmental and economic impact buildings’ demolition by identifying and tracing the flow of the used materials. The goal is to encourage circularity in the construction sector to limit the consumption of global resources.

40% of municipal solid waste comes from construction and demolition, of this percentage only 20-30% is recycled or reused, a serious lack which comes from a poor planning and the absence of information on the contents of the buildings. This has led the global use of materials to triple in the last 40 years.

The problem increases when one considers that by 2025 1 billion homes will be needed worldwide. Meeting this demand through current construction methods will require huge investments, this is why URGE aims to make a good use of available resources by implementing good circular economy practices in the building sector.

Partner: Muncipalities of Utrecht (NL), Munich (DE), Copenhagen (DK), Kavala (EL), Granada (ES), Prato (IT), Riga (LV), Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste (PT), Nigrad dd (SI)

Project duration: 02/09/2019 – 13/05/2022
Budget: 748.494,20 of which 568,927.11 financed by ERDF
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/URBACT.URGE
More information on URGE : https://urbact.eu/approvati-23-action-planning-network-20-realt%C3%A0-urbane-italiane-coinvolte