Negotiating the circular economy in a shrinking post-mining region: Material legacies and social circularity in Parkstad Limburg

This article critically examines the role of the circular economy in urban and regional governance, focusing on its social and political dimensions, often overlooked in favour of technical and economic considerations. Drawing on concepts of material and path dependence, it highlights the historical embeddedness of materials in spatial and community contexts, arguing that effective circular economy governance must extend beyond technocratic models to address the relationships between communities and their material environments. Using Parkstad Limburg, a shrinking post-mining region in the Netherlands, as a case study, we explore the emergence of ‘social circularity’ within the built environment sector. Our findings reveal how circular economy discourses rework existing governance narratives around shrinkage and spatial restructuring, rendering contentious interventions more legitimate. In doing so, we demonstrate that considering the social aspects of material circulation enables shrinking communities to navigate structural challenges and historical dependences, leveraging circular economy frameworks to reimagine their development pathways. This research demonstrates the potential for the circular economy to address the problems associated with structural shrinkage, provided the social, material, cultural, and political dimensions of place are embedded in circular strategies.