Reuse in Footbridge Design – Challenges and Opportunities

The construction sector significantly contributes to adverse environmental impacts, including extensive raw material consumption, high carbon emissions, and substantial waste generation. Within this context, the embodied environmental impacts from material manufacturing of structural elements represent a critical challenge. While addressing these issues has gained considerable momentum in the building sector, the same attention has not been extended to bridges, despite their material-intensive super- and sub-structures. Research and practical solutions in this area remain scarce. The literature highlights that applying circular economy principles such as “reuse” offer a promising strategy to significantly reduce impacts. This paper explores the intersection of circular economy with structural design practices, focusing on the implications of reuse for the field of footbridge design. The study draws on a comprehensive review of research work, conceptual studies, and built projects to contextualize these strategies and their opportunities and challenges within current engineering and architectural practices. It also assesses the role of stakeholder collaboration to achieve solutions that balance structural integrity, load bearing capacity, sustainability, economic incentives, code regulations and cultural preservation.