Solutions 4: Saturation Economy – A new approach for more efficient, collaborative, and attractive territories 

Environmental, demographic, and socio-economic changes are putting pressure on traditional models of territorial development. For many years, growth has been driven by the linear economy, based on a logic of continuous expansion: produce, consume, and discard, with a steady increase in resources, infrastructure, and supply. This model has supported economic development, but today it shows clear limits in terms of sustainability and long- term viability, also due to demographic trends that reduce the working-age population and increase social needs.

By Luciano Malfer, Research and Family Development Manager, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)

In response to these challenges, the circular economy has emerged, promoting a more efficient use of resources: reducing waste, reusing materials, and closing loops. This means moving from a focus on quantity to a focus on quality. However, today’s challenges are not only about materials, but also about services, infrastructure, skills, and relationships.

Here, the saturation economy introduces a different focus for analysis and action. It does not represent an evolution of previous models. Its starting point is that many territories do not lack resources; they simply use only part of them. Spaces, infrastructure, services, and skills form a territorial capital that already exists but is often underused.

The key point is not the amount of resources, but how much they are used. Every territory has an active part and a latent part: the challenge is to reduce this unused share without increasing costs, improving overall efficiency.

The shift between these models can be seen as a path: from the linear economy, to the circular economy, and then to the saturation economy, which focuses on a more intensive and smarter use of existing resources, both material and immaterial. These are not alternative models, but approaches that work together and strengthen each other over time. This evolution is shown in the diagram below.

In this framework, the concept of unused territorial capital becomes central. It includes resources that already exist but are not fully used, and that can be activated without additional system costs. These resources can be observed both at a macro and at a micro level.

At the macro level, examples include urban and extra-urban public transport with low usage, museums with few visitors, ski lifts not fully used, mountain houses used only occasionally, as well as other underused territorial infrastructures.

To explain the relationship between the circular economy and the saturation economy, we can consider the example of a bus: it can be a modern vehicle, powered by natural gas and made with recyclable materials, fully aligned with the principles of the circular economy; however, if it runs empty or with few passengers, it remains inefficient from the perspective of the saturation economy.

This example shows that the two approaches are complementary: circularity focuses on the quality and life cycle of resources, while saturation focuses on how much they are actually used.

At the micro level, unused capital includes everyday objects and resources, such as tools (drills, lawn mowers, welding machines), clothing, cars, or bicycles, which are often used only occasionally. These goods can create more value if they are used more, also through sharing.

In this sense, the saturation economy is linked to the sharing economy, as both aim to make better use of what already exists by increasing the level of use of available resources. A simple example is a drill: it can be a modern tool, energy efficient and made with recyclable materials, and therefore aligned with the principles of the circular economy; however, if it is used only once a year, it remains largely underused. Also in this case, the difference is clear: circularity focuses on how a product is designed and managed throughout its life cycle, while saturation focuses on how much that product is actually used over time.

The saturation economy works together with the circular economy and the sharing economy, forming a consistent set of approaches that can respond to today’s challenges. Circularity extends the life of materials, sharing increases access to resources, while saturation increases how much they are used. In this way, it is possible to expand services by making better use of unused capital, offering more services—both public and private—to residents, and at the same time strengthening the attractiveness of territories.

In this perspective, the People Strategy provides the strategic framework in which the saturation economy becomes an operational tool. Improving access to and use of existing services helps increase quality of life and territorial attractiveness without new costs, putting people, families, and communities at the center. This requires a structured process: once the available resources are mapped, strategies are identified to increase the use of goods and services without additional costs, by activating existing capital.

The effectiveness of the saturation economy can be seen especially in real-life applications. One example is described in the article “More people, same ski lifts: how the saturation economy can create opportunities for families,” published on Family Cities on February 3, 2026, which presents experiences from two ski resorts. The case concerns ski lifts: even though the costs are already covered, there is often unused transport capacity. More inclusive access policies, for example for families, make it possible to use the lifts more without increasing costs, while also improving service efficiency and the attractiveness of the territory.

Similar approaches can be applied in many areas, from mobility to public spaces, as well as cultural infrastructure and social skills, many of which will be explored further in this column. In all these cases, the principle is the same: create value without new structural investments by increasing the use of existing resources and expanding available services, with positive effects on attractiveness for both residents and people outside the territory.

The process is symbolically represented in the logo of the saturation economy, which summarizes the evolution of the paradigm: from linearity to circularity, and then to the upward direction of saturation, expressing a form of growth based not on quantity, but on making better use of what already exists.

According to analyses by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the competitiveness of territories increasingly depends on their ability to use available resources in a coordinated way, avoiding duplication and underuse (OECD,  How’s Life? 2020: Measuring Well-being, 2020; OCSE, OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2022). In particular, these studies highlight the role of territorial efficiency, access to services, and the integration of public policies as key factors for well-being and local productivity.

The OECD also highlights that the quality of how services and infrastructure are organized directly affects the ability of territories to attract people, skills, and investments, moving beyond a view focused only on quantitative growth. In this context, the saturation economy becomes an important way to understand and act, especially in fragile territories, where making better use of what already exists becomes a key strategy to improve services and attractiveness.

The future of territories will not depend so much on adding new resources, but on the ability to fully activate those already available, turning unused potential into shared value. In this perspective, true innovation is not about adding more, but about making better use of what already exists: “Not more resources, but better use of them.”