Introduction: The Embeddedness of Circularity in Everyday Slum Living in Global South Cities

The reality of informalization and ‘slummification’ of cities in the Global South has attracted considerable attention in academic and policy circles across international, national, and local levels, evident in frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda. Concurrently, the Circular Economy (CE), addressing material production, usage, and environmental impact, is increasingly becoming integral to sustainability discourse in southern cities. However, the integration of CE in the Global South often views urban slum activities and livelihoods as counterproductive to circular cities and sustainable futures. This introductory chapter challenges this perception, aiming to reframe the conventional pathological view of the urban slum–CE nexus. It synthesizes urban transitions, the circular economy, and urban slums, and provides an overview of insightful essays in this volume. These essays foreground the synergies between everyday activities in slums (livelihoods, housing, and space) and the core principles of the circular economy. Through this analysis, the chapter advocates for systematic, pragmatic, and locally situated theoretical and policy approaches to explore the role of urban slums in advancing the agenda of circular cities.