Scholars have recently debated the potential of the circular economy (CE) as a crisis response strategy; however, concrete examples demonstrating its effectiveness in such applications remain limited. This study addresses this gap by investigating how CE principles—narrowing, slowing, closing, and regenerating resource loops— can be integrated into post-disaster reconstruction and recovery, with a focus on the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes in Türkiye. Using an exploratory qualitative research design, including an integrative literature review, workshop with 24 participants and 21 expert interviews, this study develops the Build Back Circular (BBC) framework. The framework proposes ten action strategies: (1) Upcycle, reuse or recycle post-disaster waste, (2) Integrate circular design principles, (3) Introduce circular policies, (4) Leverage digital technologies, (5) Raise awareness and expand knowledge, (6) Drive the market with circular business opportunities, (7) Involve local communities, (8) Improve cooperation and collaborations, (9) Integrate CE principles into post-disaster urban development, and (10) Stimulate the use of healthy, local, and biobased materials. These strategies aim not only to enhance resource efficiency and resilience but also to address the social dimensions of CE, promoting an inclusive recovery. Successful implementation requires a collaborative ecosystem of government, municipalities, academia, the construction sector, and civil society. By bridging the fields of CE and disaster management, this research offers valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to integrate CE into post-disaster reconstruction and urban development processes. Beyond Türkiye’s recovery, it aims to support global disaster risk frameworks (e.g., UN’s Sendai Framework), enhancing crisis management through a CE lens.

The circular economy has long been regarded as a key strategy for achieving sustainable development and has more recently been recognized as an effective approach to crisis response. This study contributes to this nascent literature by introducing a dual hierarchy of 6Rs strategies as a guiding framework for circular post-disaster recovery to support the integration of circularity into the United Nations' “Build Back Better” approach. The novelty of the proposed hierarchy lies in the two-vector operationalization of each strategy, considering both past and future perspectives. This dual focus facilitates the recovery of materials and components from disaster-affected buildings, the restoration of damaged structures, and the design of new buildings with a stronger emphasis on circularity. Based on the hierarchy, a typology of design strategies for circular recovery and reconstruction has been proposed, structured around four key features, offering practical guidance on how different aspects of circularity can be operationalized in rebuilding efforts. In addition, the study outlines methodological recommendations for assessing the circularity potential of damaged structures, a critical step in planning adaptive and resource-efficient rebuilding. The article also examines the case of war-torn Ukraine as one of the most devastating man-made disasters today. The potential for Ukraine's circular recovery within the framework of global and European Union disaster management mechanisms, as well as the European Commission's policies in the construction industry, has been explored. The study employs a three-step multi-method approach that includes a literature review, critical analysis, and conceptual modeling. Key findings, comprising a dual hierarchy of strategies, a typology of design approaches, and recommendations for circularity assessment, contribute to advancing circular recovery and reconstruction after disasters in various contexts, including war-torn Ukraine, and reflect their practical significance for circular recovery initiatives.

The early 2020s have been characterized by multiple convergent crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and economic fallout of mitigation measures, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the ongoing sustainability and climate change crisis. This article discusses how the concept of the circular economy can inform responses to such crises by addressing four elements of a socio-economic system: technological innovation, supply chains and markets, public policy, and consumer behaviour. Synthesizing emerging insights from the scholarly and policymaking arenas, the article identifies the following ways that the circular economy concept can be effectively framed as crisis response: focusing on circularity in a more holistic way, adopting global value chains as the primary unit of analysis, pinpointing specific circularity aspects like drivers and barriers in value chains and business models, and extending the prevailing focus on technical aspects and material flows to often overlooked trade and geopolitical considerations. This discussion aims to articulate lessons for industry, policymakers, and scholars in leveraging a circularity approach to address the world's most pressing issues.