Bijlmermeer and Scampia: The potential of suburbs as centralities in sustainable and circular cities

In the sustainable paradigm of the circular economy, waste is a resource to be valued. Similarly, in the circular city, fringe areas and urban wastescapes are places full of potential. This study consider two modern suburbs in Amsterdam and Naples. The two cases aims to compare the characteristics, potential and problems of the two districts and the ongoing actions for sustainable or circular urban regeneration. The objective is to identify the potential of these two European suburbs in the wider process of development of fair and circular cities. Therefore, this paper aims to answer to the following research question: Based on the two case studies Bijlmermeer and Scampia, what is the potential for circular and socially sustainable urban transformation of the 1960s suburbs? Analysing the main changes that have taken place over the last ten years in these complex areas, the main drivers are identified with the historical value of modern architecture landmarks, the opportunities offered by big green public spaces in dense urbanized areas, the presence of active place-based communities and their position in nodal points of the metropolitan areas.