Circular Economy
Urban Stock
The accumulated mass of materials in buildings, infrastructure and products — a mine of metals and minerals above ground.
Definition
Urban stock is the total accumulation of materials embodied in the built environment and durable goods of a society — the steel in structures, copper in wiring, aluminium in frames, rare metals in electronics. Material stock studies show these in-use stocks now rival or exceed remaining geological reserves for some metals, making cities "urban mines": recoverable, concentrated deposits whose exploitation through demolition recovery and product recycling substitutes for primary extraction.
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