Canadian smart cities: a case for the circular economy in the age of "smart" innovation

The Canadian Smart Cities Challenge enabled municipalities across the country to reflect on how smart city technology can be used to solve their unique community challenges, embrace the possibility of impactful projects, create collaborations, and create a suite of digital tools. This paper analyses whether governments can be catalysts in adopting circular economy thinking in the age of digital innovation. In reviewing the SCC applications, five proposal submissions were analysed in depth against a circular economy framework. Recommendations for further development in smart city thinking centre around future Smart Cities Challenges, and building circular assumptions into the challenge questions, whereby ensuring circular principles are a priority for municipalities as they continue to grow and adapt to smart city technological advances. Key words: Smart Cities Challenge, circular economy, smart city technology, innovation, sustainable,​ ​reuse, sharing, remanufacturing and repurposing