Circularity on what grounds? Advancing learning for circular area development at the interface of proximity and precarity

This paper contributes empirically and conceptually to ongoing debates on the social and spatial implications of the circular economy in cities. We aim to offer a perspective on what a practice-based approach delivers in terms of opportunities for urban learning for circular cities, a topic insufficiently addressed in ongoing problematisations of circularity. Our findings are grounded in explorative qualitative research that was carried out over a period of five years, including in-depth interviews, ethnographic observations at local community events and go-along conversations in the Binckhorst area in the Hague. We ask what happens when a long-standing self-supportive neighbourhood is taken apart based on a rather sanitised vision on circular area development with high building densities. Our exploration offers an alternative view on planning the Binckhorst's circular transition, whereby a focus on social practices is likely to render a more humane, inclusive and, not least, sustainable version of circularity. In particular, learning at the interface of proximity and precarity offers potential for reformatting current conditions toward a circular and just neighbourhood and shows how the horizon of potentiality for local circular economies can be broadened.