Din, Zia Ud2023-06-02December 22022-12-19https://hdl.handle.net/10657/14398Today, circular economy (CE) practices have begun to move beyond European and Asian borders and have become increasingly popular among researchers and practitioners in the United States (U.S.). CE is a model of production and consumption aimed at eliminating waste and keeping products, equipment, and infrastructure in use forever. The implementation of CE in the built environment is more needed than ever to make the construction industry more efficient and sustainable. The U.S. building sector significantly impacts resource use, construction & demolition (C&D) waste, and carbon emissions. According to research, some barriers associated with CE implementation include cost and schedule constraints, existing policies and regulations, and lack of clarity on what CE entails. Drivers related to CE include educating stakeholders, seeking opportunities to use pre-fabrication, and increasing demolition and landfill taxes. Although barriers and drivers have been discovered and discussed over the past 20 years, CE practices have yet to be widely used throughout the construction industry. Thus, industry knowledge from key stakeholders is necessary to progress toward CE in the U.S. This study employs a mixed-method data collection approach to investigate the barriers and drivers associated with implementing CE in the built environment, as perceived by stakeholders in the AEC industry. Initially, questions were gathered from a literature review examining barriers and drivers associated with CE implementation already noted in academic papers. Second, eight CE expert interviews were conducted to validate survey questions related to this study. Finally, following the validation of the survey, data was collected through an online survey completed by fifty-three CE and sustainability stakeholders from across the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. According to this study, CE implementation is influenced by various factors, including unfamiliar design techniques, lack of awareness of CE practices in the built environment, market and industry dynamics making it challenge to utilize reclaimed material, sustainability of the environment, image enhancement, and government incentives.application/pdfengThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).Circular economyCircularityConstructionConstruction and demolition wasteSustainabilityStakeholderClosed loopDriverBarriers2023-06-02Thesisborn digital