Circular economy as ‘catalyst’ for resilience in inner areas

Right from their definition, Italian inner areas seem to show their dual nature of ‘fragile areas’ and ‘reservoirs of resilience’. Thus, effective development strategies against abandonment for these areas need to move towards both dealing with their multi-dimensional fragility and triggering their “resilience resources”. The application of ‘Circular Economy’ principles can be crucial in achieving these aims. Indeed, it is possible to point out many convergences between the Italian Strategy for Inner Areas and Circular Economy theory. In this light, after an insight into the issues of inner areas and Circular Economy and the identification of their meeting points, the paper aims to define a conceptual model for a methodology to trigger inner areas resilience in a circular and place-based perspective. Finally, its possible implementation and integration with other decision-making support tools and the opportunity of applying it to inner areas are discussed.