Urban Metabolic Risk: Rethinking Circular Urban Metabolism for Sustainable Regeneration Processes

Urban metabolic risk refers to the cumulative negative impacts of urban metabolism, which undermine quality of life and create significant challenges for urban regeneration initiatives. In the context of post-growth urbanism, this concept offers a lens to explore how urban metabolisms can be reconfigured to sustain ecological balance and social equity, moving beyond growth-driven models of development. This paper aims to define the different factors that determine urban metabolic risk by analyzing the case of Bagnoli-Coroglio, a multi-risk contaminated Site of National Inter- est (SIN) in Naples, Southern Italy. Bagnoli, historically an agricultural area that became an industrial hub in the late 19th century, exemplifies the socio-ecological disruptions driven by unsustainable urbanization. The closure of industrial activities in 1990 left be- hind severe soil and sea pollution and social fractures due to unemployment and loss of identity; furthermore, the area has been waiting for a reclamation project for almost 40 years, making the site a paradigmatic example of metabolic risk. Urban metabolic risk is not limited to the inefficiency in managing material and resource flows in cities and between urban and rural contexts at a regional level, but also con- siders the rebalance of human- nature relation, encompassing the broader alienation of humans from the natural environment, as conceptualized by Marx’s metabolic rift (Moore, 2000). This rupture accelerates ecosystem degradation (Heynen et al., 2006), exacerbates socio-economic inequalities, and intensifies urban vulnerabilities, particu- larly in marginalized communities. While ecological dimensions of the metabolic rift are well-documented (McClintock, 2010), this paper emphasizes the often-overlooked social and political dimensions that hinder equitable regeneration processes. By analyzing the site of Bagnoli-Coroglio, this research aims to identify and map the fac- tors that contribute to metabolic risk and to define the planning tools, such as participa- tive governance and circular planning models that may help mitigating urban metabolic risk while allowing more inclusive and environmentally sustainable urban systems. This study is part of the PE3–RETURN project Task 5.4.4 - Circular Metabolism in Urban and Metropolitan Settlements.