In 'Circular Communities', pioneering, collectively supported initiatives are central, aimed at closing resource flows at the neighbourhood or district level and thus contributing to the transition to a circular economy. For the analysis of these different initiatives, the researchers - urban planner Els Leclercq and architect Mo Smit - developed a unique approach: the Circular Value Flower method.

This method helps to organise the joint closing of resource flows (materials, energy, water, biota, nutrients) on a neighbourhood scale and provides insight into the added value (economic, ecological, social, cultural, aesthetic) that can be realised within the built environment.