http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42 2026-06-16T22:44:55Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42204 Title: Enhancing rural prosperity through social capital Authors: Noll, Dominik; Rivera, Maria; Wiesinger, Georg; Oedl-Wieser, Theresia; Giray, Handan; Bettoni, Maddalena Editors: Semih Akçomak, Ibrahim; Peiró-Palomino, Jesus Abstract: The link between social capital and economic development has received much attention in recent decades. While economic development is proven to have positive effects on social inclusion and quality of life, this happens mostly at the expense of environmental sustainability. Research should thus not only focus on the link between social capital and economic development but also prosperity, understood as ecological sustainability, social inclusion, and quality of life at large. Typically, the term prosperity has been associated almost exclusively with economic growth, but evidence has shown that this could only be achieved at the expense of environmental sustainability and that GDP as an indicator falls short in accounting for the general well-being of all humans. Prosperity should include factors such as social cohesion and engagement, achieved through cooperation and trust, environmental sustainability, and knowledge, which increases the ability people have to increase their resilience, and quality of life. All these factors are supported by, powered by, and geared towards social capital, which is one of the key building blocks of the “social web”. With our contribution, we aim at expanding the focus from the link of social capital and economic development to the impact of social capital on prosperity. We do so by providing theoretical and practical information about eight illustrative case studies from Austria, Portugal, Spain and Türkiye that serve as best practice examples for increasing the prosperity of rural regions through the building of social capital. The empirical analysis of these best practice examples shows that in all cases, social, economic, and environmental sustainability are core elements. Thus, future research must look beyond the impact of social capital on economic development, by integrating indicators that show if social capital is a valuable tool to reach this new form of prosperity, incorporating all three dimensions of sustainability. 2025-05-14T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42202 Title: Towards an ecological metaphor for regenerative circular economies Authors: Zisopoulos, Filippos; D. Fath, Brian; Meirelles de Oliveira, Bruno; Toboso-Chavero, Susana; D'Assenza-David, Hugo; Miranda de Souza, Vitor; Huang, Hao; Scrieciu, Serban; Clark, O. Grant; Noll, Dominik; Singh, Simron; Stefanakis, Alexandros; Boyd, Graham; Schraven, Daan; de Jong, Martin Abstract: An ecological metaphor can enable transitions towards regenerative circular economies. Yet, this potential remains latent because its conceptual development, which is a prerequisite for its practical operationalization, is in its incipient phase and largely vague. To strengthen its epistemological underpinning, we propose a forward-looking interdisciplinary research agenda which brings together theories, ontological positions, analytical approaches, and strategies of action from ecological economics, panarchy theory, socio-metabolic research, process ecology, environ network theory, the constructal law, nature-based solutions, complexity economics, doughnut economics, regenerative economics, and ergodicity economics. The agenda facilitates the concentration, consolidation, and acceleration of theoretical and methodological innovation for the generation and accumulation of a diverse yet coherent body of knowledge on the interpretation of the process of regeneration and for illuminating the ways in which regenerative circular economies may function. 2025-04-30T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42194 Title: The legacies of construction waste on Samothrace from ­ antiquity to the present - A case study between archaeology and social metabolism Authors: Holzman, Samuel; Noll, Dominik Abstract: The Greek island of Samothrace, located in the northern Aegean Sea, has been continuously inhabited since about 5500 BC. Samothracian builders, however, imported non-biodegradable building materials in large quantities only during two historical periods, the first during the early Hellenistic period (c. 350–150 BC) and the second during the modern period (c. 1970–2021). Samothrace’s insularity limits the flow of materials: it increases the cost of imports, prevents most waste exports and limits options for local waste management and recycling. The artificial harbors, which were built on the island in antiquity and in the 20th century, have significantly changed the building and reuse patterns on the island. A broad historical outline of building on Samothrace, comparing the last 5000 and 100 years, draws attention to the secondary uses of building materials. By quantifying ancient imports of marble and modern imports of concrete, brick, asphalt, steel and plastics, it is possible to compare the scale of the imprint these materials leave on the landscape. A point of alignment between the historical data collected from archaeological excavations and the modern statistics produced by Sociometabolic Research reveals a striking contrast: the estimated average amount of construction and demolition waste produced each year in Samothrace today (10,000 tones) is roughly equal to the total estimate of all marble imported to the island for construction purposes in antiquity. 2025-02-24T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42192 Title: Inequities blocking the path to circular economies: A bio-inspired network-based approach for assessing the sustainability of the global trade of waste metals Authors: Zisopoulos, Filippos; D. Fath, Brian; Toboso-Chavero, Susana; Huang, Hao; Schraven, Daan; Steuer, Benjamin; Stefanakis, Alexandros; Clark, O. Grant; Scrieciu, Serban; Singh, Simron; Noll, Dominik; de Jong, Martin Abstract: Considering the importance of waste metals for the transition to circular economies, this study follows a bio-inspired approach to evaluate their material and monetary global trade patterns for sustainability and equity. Between 2000 and 2022, the global trade grew by 5 % in trading countries, by 37 % in trade links, by 71 % in material flows, and by 569 % in economic flows. Driven by indirect effects, the average circulation of material and monetary flows ranged between 21.8–34.9 % depending on the demand or supply perspective but showed a declining trend. Due to homogenization, high network redundancy, and low network efficiency the trade remained robust yet outside the "window of vitality" characterizing natural ecosystems. A few, mostly high-income countries dominated the market, consolidating imports of high-value metal waste mostly from low- and middle-income exporters. Policies should address circularity and trade inequities, accounting for environmental and social ramifications throughout the lifecycle of products and materials. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z