Photo credits: Urban Tree Village

The promise of circular neighborhood

Cities are growing hubs of natural resource consumption and Co2 emissions, and the challenges are recognized in both California and The Netherlands. These forward-thinking regions are ideal partners to collaborate on tackling climate challenges. In 2020, they signed an MoU to create a Circular and Regenerative Economy. In 2022, the Circular Neighbourhood Cluster was established to facilitate ongoing collaboration between Dutch and Californian cities and companies. Together, they aim to accelerate the journey toward circularity and regeneration, achieving emission neutrality, enhancing liveability, and protecting the environment. Join us in this transformative effort!

The Circular Neighborhood Cluster works with partners on:

Circular Neighborhood
Solutions
Design
PPP
Circular neighborhoods are designed to minimize waste and promote efficient resource use, with self-sufficiency and low environmental impact in mind. They achieve this through sustainable materials, energy-efficient technologies, sustainable transportation, green spaces, and waste reduction strategies. The goal is to create a sustainable, resilient living environment for residents and contribute to a more equitable society.
  • City of Amsterdam City of Amsterdam
    The city of Amsterdam is one of the frontrunners in circular economy policy and circular procurement in construction. The city’s goal is to use 50% less resources in 2030. Through Amsterdam Trade and Innovate, the City of Amsterdam actively supports Dutch companies in sustainable construction to do business abroad and vice versa. Currently, Amsterdam is doing a pilot project on the doughnut economics, a visual framework for sustainable development working together economist Kate Raworth, who developed the concept.
    amsterdamsmartcity.com
  • Hydraloop Hydraloop
    Hydraloop designs and produces award-winning and first-of-its-kind decentralized water recycling products. Collecting, cleaning, and re using water from showers, baths, washing machines, handbasins and air conditioning units. Hydraloop offers a variety of smart, innovative water recycling products for homes, commercial real estate, hotels, lodges and more. Hydraloop products can be used in densely populated cities, rural areas and off-grid situations where water supply is unstable or insufficient. Hydraloop future proofs any building and adds sustainability points for certifications like LEED and BREEAM.
    www.hydraloop.com
  • Makers of Sustainable Spaces (MOSS) Makers of Sustainable Spaces (MOSS)
    MOSS’s work contributes to the sustainability and wellbeing of the built environment and its users through its innovative, green solutions. MOSS is specialized in full package green design projects ranging from; tropical indoor gardens, intensive outdoor green roofs to urban agriculture projects. Its team of specialists includes biophilic designers, green architects, plant specialists, and project managers, supporting you in creating a more beautiful, healthy, and green building environment to work, play, and live in.
    www.moss.amsterdam
  • Rebel Group Rebel Group
    Rebel is an international consultancy firm passionate about entrepreneurship and positive impact. Its consultants work on topics influencing the future, from sustainability to transportation and circular economy. Its circular economy advisory services include helping governments develop circular strategies, working with organizations to help quantify the environmental impacts of its products services and activities, and helping support circular procurement processes. Rebel supports design policies and strategies and stimulates coordination and direction in value chains. Rebel's main goal is impact, which why it not only consults, but also invests in the projects it truly believes in.
    www.rebelgroup.com/en/
  • Serendipity Serendipity
    Serendipity supports cities and companies to see the future and give guidance, through consultancy to get there step by step. As an expert in public private partnerships and thought leader in digital transformation, serendipity connects its customers with the right people at the right time with the right solution on a global scale. The digital toolbox is a procurement platform and Operating System (OS) (e.g. ‘digital twins’) to build circular neighborhoods & climate neutral cities. Its Joint Investment Plan builds climate neutral cities. Its progress management implements next generation solutions through public private partnerships. Serendipity organizes coincidence. It is a trusted ecosystem partner and has ample experience advising a diverse set of stakeholders in the Tech sector, government (including the Dutch and European authorities) and is part of the global philanthropy networks (BMW foundation & Nexus).
    serendipity.buzz
  • Space&Matter Space&Matter
    Space&Matter is an Amsterdam-based studio for spatial and strategic design that specializes in designing regenerative and thriving neighborhoods. It offers sustainable architecture and master planning; strategic design, design research and workshop facilitation; vision making, trend reporting and digital tooling. With a joint expertise in urban development, community engagement and architecture, Space&Matter guides decision making amongst complex stakeholder groups. It also connects top down with bottom up by developing both large-scale regenerative visions. And designs participatory urban planning to co-create circular neighborhoods in which people from all walks of life can thrive.
    www.spaceandmatter.nl
  • Superuse Studios Superuse Studios
    Superuse Studios is an international architecture collective for circular and sustainable design. Its strategy is to reuse an entire building wherever possible to reduce both costs and energy. It believes circular building requires an integral approach from the ambition phase to realization. The company offers architectural dynamic designs for building which take into consideration the use of circular materials; systemic research and designs connecting industries and communities upcycling waste streams into valuable products. Its spinoff Blade Made transforms waste from wind turbines/wind blades into long lasting objects that are beautiful, functional and sustainable. Superuse creates inspiring environments with materials that have a local history and save CO2. Its architects work together with partners and the client as one design team on a dynamic final design realizing up to 90% circularity.
    www.superuse-studios.com
  • VERSES VERSES
    VERSES is a next generation AI company providing foundational technology for the contextual computing era. Modeled after natural systems and the design principles of the human brain and the human experience, VERSES’ flagship offering, KOSM ™, is an AI Operating System for enhancing any application with adaptive intelligence. Built on open spatial web standards, KOSM transforms disparate data into a universal context that fosters trustworthy collaboration between humans, machines, and AI, across digital and physical domains.
    www.verses.io
  • Wavin Wavin
    The MetroPolder team has joined the Urban Climate Resilience (UCR) branch within Wavin. Wavin is a water infrastructure and technology company with a long history of Water innovation. It offers sustainability-based customer solutions for drinking water, sanitation, climate resilient cities and better building performance. Wavin focuses on reviving cities through Circular Water Design. Providing products and solutions ranging from traditional stormwater infrastructure, and building piping to innovative smart blue-green roof solutions and green infrastructure systems which buffer, reuse and infiltrate rainwater based on weather forecasts. The Smart blue-green roof (Polder) solution of MetroPolder is a proven successful, international, application. Wavin provides digital tools to monitor, control, and optimize water and green infrastructure solutions.
    www.wavin.com
Circular economy principles alleviate the pressure on natural resources. As urban societies develop and populations grow, so will demand. In order to maintain sustainable systems, we need to switch to renewable and reusable sources.
  • Wavin Wavin
    The MetroPolder team has joined the Urban Climate Resilience (UCR) branch within Wavin. Wavin is a water infrastructure and technology company with a long history of Water innovation. It offers sustainability-based customer solutions for drinking water, sanitation, climate resilient cities and better building performance. Wavin focuses on reviving cities through Circular Water Design. Providing products and solutions ranging from traditional stormwater infrastructure, and building piping to innovative smart blue-green roof solutions and green infrastructure systems which buffer, reuse and infiltrate rainwater based on weather forecasts. The Smart blue-green roof (Polder) solution of MetroPolder is a proven successful, international, application. Wavin provides digital tools to monitor, control, and optimize water and green infrastructure solutions.
    www.wavin.com
  • Hydraloop Hydraloop
    Hydraloop designs and produces award-winning and first-of-its-kind decentralized water recycling products. Collecting, cleaning, and re using water from showers, baths, washing machines, handbasins and air conditioning units. Hydraloop offers a variety of smart, innovative water recycling products for homes, commercial real estate, hotels, lodges and more. Hydraloop products can be used in densely populated cities, rural areas and off-grid situations where water supply is unstable or insufficient. Hydraloop future proofs any building and adds sustainability points for certifications like LEED and BREEAM.
    www.hydraloop.com
Let us help you to design your (digital) circular green neighborhood of the future.
  • Space&Matter Space&Matter
    Space&Matter is an Amsterdam-based studio for spatial and strategic design that specializes in designing regenerative and thriving neighborhoods. It offers sustainable architecture and master planning; strategic design, design research and workshop facilitation; vision making, trend reporting and digital tooling. With a joint expertise in urban development, community engagement and architecture, Space&Matter guides decision making amongst complex stakeholder groups. It also connects top down with bottom up by developing both large-scale regenerative visions. And designs participatory urban planning to co-create circular neighborhoods in which people from all walks of life can thrive.
    www.spaceandmatter.nl
  • Superuse Studios Superuse Studios
    Superuse Studios is an international architecture collective for circular and sustainable design. Its strategy is to reuse an entire building wherever possible to reduce both costs and energy. It believes circular building requires an integral approach from the ambition phase to realization. The company offers architectural dynamic designs for building which take into consideration the use of circular materials; systemic research and designs connecting industries and communities upcycling waste streams into valuable products. Its spinoff Blade Made transforms waste from wind turbines/wind blades into long lasting objects that are beautiful, functional and sustainable. Superuse creates inspiring environments with materials that have a local history and save CO2. Its architects work together with partners and the client as one design team on a dynamic final design realizing up to 90% circularity.
    www.superuse-studios.com
  • Makers of Sustainable Spaces (MOSS) Makers of Sustainable Spaces (MOSS)
    MOSS’s work contributes to the sustainability and wellbeing of the built environment and its users through its innovative, green solutions. MOSS is specialized in full package green design projects ranging from; tropical indoor gardens, intensive outdoor green roofs to urban agriculture projects. Its team of specialists includes biophilic designers, green architects, plant specialists, and project managers, supporting you in creating a more beautiful, healthy, and green building environment to work, play, and live in.
    www.moss.amsterdam
  • Serendipity Serendipity
    Serendipity supports cities and companies to see the future and give guidance, through consultancy to get there step by step. As an expert in public private partnerships and thought leader in digital transformation, serendipity connects its customers with the right people at the right time with the right solution on a global scale. The digital toolbox is a procurement platform and Operating System (OS) (e.g. ‘digital twins’) to build circular neighborhoods & climate neutral cities. Its Joint Investment Plan builds climate neutral cities. Its progress management implements next generation solutions through public private partnerships. Serendipity organizes coincidence. It is a trusted ecosystem partner and has ample experience advising a diverse set of stakeholders in the Tech sector, government (including the Dutch and European authorities) and is part of the global philanthropy networks (BMW foundation & Nexus).
    serendipity.buzz
  • VERSES VERSES
    VERSES is a next generation AI company providing foundational technology for the contextual computing era. Modeled after natural systems and the design principles of the human brain and the human experience, VERSES’ flagship offering, KOSM ™, is an AI Operating System for enhancing any application with adaptive intelligence. Built on open spatial web standards, KOSM transforms disparate data into a universal context that fosters trustworthy collaboration between humans, machines, and AI, across digital and physical domains.
    www.verses.io
Up to three quarters of global resources are consumed by urban activities and they account for 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing this requires a paradigm shift in which governments, knowledge centers, businesses and residents come together. Only when all stakeholders join hands in an inclusive process will circular systems reverse this trend. Work with the cluster on public private partnerships (PPP), circular procurement and community building.
  • Rebel Group Rebel Group
    Rebel is an international consultancy firm passionate about entrepreneurship and positive impact. Its consultants work on topics influencing the future, from sustainability to transportation and circular economy. Its circular economy advisory services include helping governments develop circular strategies, working with organizations to help quantify the environmental impacts of its products services and activities, and helping support circular procurement processes. Rebel supports design policies and strategies and stimulates coordination and direction in value chains. Rebel's main goal is impact, which why it not only consults, but also invests in the projects it truly believes in.
    www.rebelgroup.com/en/
  • City of Amsterdam City of Amsterdam
    The city of Amsterdam is one of the frontrunners in circular economy policy and circular procurement in construction. The city’s goal is to use 50% less resources in 2030. Through Amsterdam Trade and Innovate, the City of Amsterdam actively supports Dutch companies in sustainable construction to do business abroad and vice versa. Currently, Amsterdam is doing a pilot project on the doughnut economics, a visual framework for sustainable development working together economist Kate Raworth, who developed the concept.
    amsterdamsmartcity.com
  • Space&Matter Space&Matter
    Space&Matter is an Amsterdam-based studio for spatial and strategic design that specializes in designing regenerative and thriving neighborhoods. It offers sustainable architecture and master planning; strategic design, design research and workshop facilitation; vision making, trend reporting and digital tooling. With a joint expertise in urban development, community engagement and architecture, Space&Matter guides decision making amongst complex stakeholder groups. It also connects top down with bottom up by developing both large-scale regenerative visions. And designs participatory urban planning to co-create circular neighborhoods in which people from all walks of life can thrive.
    www.spaceandmatter.nl
  • Superuse Studios Superuse Studios
    Superuse Studios is an international architecture collective for circular and sustainable design. Its strategy is to reuse an entire building wherever possible to reduce both costs and energy. It believes circular building requires an integral approach from the ambition phase to realization. The company offers architectural dynamic designs for building which take into consideration the use of circular materials; systemic research and designs connecting industries and communities upcycling waste streams into valuable products. Its spinoff Blade Made transforms waste from wind turbines/wind blades into long lasting objects that are beautiful, functional and sustainable. Superuse creates inspiring environments with materials that have a local history and save CO2. Its architects work together with partners and the client as one design team on a dynamic final design realizing up to 90% circularity.
    www.superuse-studios.com

Impact Numbers

The percentage of re-used materials used in the Boschgaard project (build by Superuse)…
84%
The reduction of CO2 emission compared to regular building standards in the Boschgaard project…
70%
The percentage of bio-based or upcycled materials used in Space & Matter’s most current project SAMPLE…
80%
The amount of drinking- and waste water saved by using water recycling technology in Hydraloop systems used in the Boskoop project…
Up to 45%
The City of Amsterdam’s goal to decrease in resources in 2030…
50%

How to collaborate with us?

The cluster comprises several Dutch companies with expertise in developing circular neighborhoods. Our clustermembers aspire to work in symbiosis with architects, designers, project developers, construction companies, and local governments based in California.

Interested in collaborating with our clustermembers? Please reach out to us.

Contact

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