The Circular Grassroots research project invites you to a series of four webinars exploring how local initiatives can contribute to more just and sustainable cities.
Read more about each webinar and register on the Circular Grassroots Webinar Series webpage. You will also find the Zoom link for each webinar there.
2 February 2026, 15-16.30 CET
The notion of social metabolism is quite well known in ecological economics, and is of extreme relevance for the circular economy. This webinar presents three cases of grassroots metabolisms, looking at waste pickers, natural spaces and human-shaped agroecosystems.
26 February 2026 14:00 CET (08:00 New York · 09:00/10:00 Uruguay · 18:00 India)
This webinar is a launch event of the book “Contested Waste: Environmental Conflicts and Waste Picker Resistance in the Global South” edited by Federico de Maria, Daniel Vico and Lucía Fernández. The book examines socio-environmental conflicts involving waste pickers in the Global South, uncovering the systemic injustices that underpin contemporary waste policies.
2 March 2026, 15.30-17.00 CET
Grassroots initiatives for sustainability, such as food-saving and repair movements, play a crucial role in advancing more just urban transformations. This webinar explores the diversity of values produced by urban grassroots initiatives, how these values are distributed among participants, and why making them visible matters for public recognition, institutional support, and governance.
23 March 2026, 12.00-13.30 CET
Despite their contributions, grassroots initiatives frequently face significant challenges in accessing and securing space, which is often obtained through temporary or negotiated arrangements with local governments and other stakeholders.
In response, new models for accessing, managing, and governing grassroots spaces are emerging across European cities. This webinar explores these evolving regimes of spatial governance, ranging from simple and transitional arrangements to more sophisticated and long-term models.