Advancing the Circular Transition: Digitalization and Material Innovation for a Sustainable Built Environment

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition to a circular built environment is a critical pathway to address the growing challenges of material consumption, waste generation, and the environmental footprint of the construction sector. As buildings and infrastructure account for substantial shares of global material use and waste, advancing circularity demands a fundamental rethinking of design, construction, operation, and end-of-life strategies.

This Topic invites contributions that explore how digitalization and material innovation, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Geographic Information Systems (GISs), Digital Twins, Lifecycle Assessment, Material Passports, AI-based Systems, and Data Platforms, can support the transition to a regenerative and resource-efficient built environment. We particularly welcome studies that integrate Material Flow Analysis (MFA), Material Stock Analysis (MSA), and Intelligent Material Passports as tools for monitoring, planning, and optimizing material lifecycles.

We invite contributions that bring together interdisciplinary research, case studies, methods, and innovations that promote data-driven decision-making, material traceability, and circular business models in construction, infrastructure, and urban systems.

Developed in collaboration with the EU COST Action CircularB, this Topic seeks to spark cross-sectoral dialogue among academics, practitioners, and policymakers dedicated to driving the circular transition forward.

Prof. Dr. Luís Bragança
Dr. Mayara Regina Munaro
Dr. Ferhat Karaca
Dr. Sakdirat Kaewunruen
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Energies energies	3.2	7.3	2008	16.8 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Sustainability sustainability	3.3	7.7	2009	17.9 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Buildings buildings	3.1	4.4	2011	15.1 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Applied Sciences applsci	2.5	5.5	2011	16 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Infrastructures infrastructures	2.9	6.0	2016	18.3 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
CivilEng civileng	2.0	4.0	2020	21.7 Days	CHF 1400	Submit
Applied System Innovation asi	3.7	9.9	2018	22 Days	CHF 1600	Submit
Smart Cities smartcities	5.5	14.7	2018	25.2 Days	CHF 2000	Submit

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