Print Email Facebook Twitter Spatial optimization of circular timber hubs Title Spatial optimization of circular timber hubs Author Tsui, T.P.Y. (TU Delft Environmental & Climate Design) Venverloo, T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Benson, Tom (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Duarte, Fábio (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Date 2024 Abstract In the European Union, construction is responsible for 36% of CO2 emissions and 40% energy consumption. The reuse of construction materials has been receiving increasing attention, including regulations established by the European Union, and cities establishing goals to reuse construction materials. This is the case for Amsterdam, which established the goal of reusing 50% of construction materials in new construction by 2030. Part of the challenge of reuse of construction materials in urban areas is to optimize the waste-to-resource loops: finding the optimal scale and location for circular construction hubs—facilities that collect, store, and redistribute construction waste as secondary construction materials. In this paper, we use the supply and demand of timber construction materials in Amsterdam as a case study to find the optimal scale and location for construction hubs. We used the spatial simulated annealing algorithm as an optimization method for balancing the trade-off between small and large-scale hubs, using cost-effectiveness to compare potential locations and identify the optimal solution. We found that the optimal number of hubs for our study area is 29, with an average service radius of 3 km. This study has implications for policymakers, urban planners, and companies seeking to implement circular economy principles. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7241a1c8-890a-433f-9884-4b96b2f2b3ed DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-024-00153-0 ISSN 2661-8001 Source npj Urban Sustainability, 4 (1) Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2024 T.P.Y. Tsui, T. Venverloo, Tom Benson, Fábio Duarte Files PDF s42949-024-00153-0.pdf 1.49 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:7241a1c8-890a-433f-9884-4b96b2f2b3ed/datastream/OBJ/view