The general thesis of this World Habitat Day Celebration is that towns, cities and metropolitan cities can reduce their economic, environmental and social diseconomies if they adopt a ‘circular’ model of organization. The ‘territorialized’ model of circular economy is the ‘circular city’ model, which puts in virtuous relationships its centres with its suburbs: the historical centre and the consolidated city with the suburban territory.

It can improve the promotion of a Better Urban Future, more inclusive and more ecologically sustainable, grounded on the implementation of human rights. The right to health/wellbeing is achieved through the housing rights: through adequate housing and service for all, interpreted through the lens of ecology.

A multidimensional and multicriteria approach is proposed for integrating humanistic paradigm with ecological paradigm to support the planning process for development from the perspective of the circular economy and circular city model. The originality of this proposal consists, on the one hand, in assuming objectives/criteria emerging from the strategies of the Agenda 2030, New Urban Agenda, European Green Deal and, on the other hand, in focusing on the integration of the proposal of the World Health Organization about the integration of the environmental, economic and social impacts produced by climate change in planning/designing choices. The challenge is to identify preferable nature-based solutions in which nature becomes the most important city infrastructure.

Names and Titles of Speakers:

Michelangelo, Russo, Head of the Department of Architecture, University of Naples Federico II;
Ugo, Guarnacci, Project Adviser, European Commission - EASME;
Antonio, Navarra, President of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, The challenge of climate change, as the most important issue of this century because of its ecological, social, and economic impacts;
Francesco, Fuso-Nerini, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, The challenge of climate change, as the most important issue of this century because of its ecological, social, and economic impacts;
Anna Domaradzka, University of Warsaw, Actions for reducing negative impacts of the city development;
Cristina Garzillo, Senior Coordinator ICLEI - Local governance for Sustainability, Freiburg, Re-inventing historic areas: an opportunity to turn challenges into transformation;
Riccardo Crescenzi, London School of Economics, London, The key role of the community in the human-centered city development: from right to the city towards rights to adequate housing/services for all;
Joanna, Williams, Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, London, Rebuilding cities after a pandemic - a circular approach;
Sahar, Attia, Cairo University, Cairo, The informal sector and the informal city: which desirable future?;
Sigrid, Stagl, University of Wien;Luigi, Fusco Girard, University of Naples Federico II;
Cristiana Parisi (Copenhagen Business School)