Circular Cities: New York City

Cities are where materials, products, food, water, energy, buildings, infrastructure, capital, and people converge—and where many of the opportunities for a more circular economy can be seen most clearly. Circular Cities: NYC uses New York City as a living laboratory for exploring how circular economy principles operate at the scale of an urban system.

Through field visits, case studies, guest practitioners, mapping, observation, and research, students will “read” the city by investigating the systems that make New York function: what enters the city, how resources and materials move through it, what is retained or recirculated, and what ultimately leaves as waste or emissions. The course will examine circularity at multiple scales, from everyday products and services to buildings, food systems, infrastructure, waste, water, and the policy and cultural conditions that shape them. Students will assess existing circular initiatives in New York, identify barriers and opportunities for scaling them, compare New York with approaches in other cities, and explore the roles of government, business, communities, designers, and other actors in enabling urban circularity. The semester will culminate in a collaborative vision for a more circular New York, identifying promising interventions and the conditions needed to bring them to scale. No prior coursework in the circular economy is required. The course will provide a foundation in core circularity principles while allowing students with previous experience to apply those concepts in greater depth in a real urban context.