Land
use
UP-6
Urban
Environmental Problems
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
amount of land in km
2
per
year per capita that is converted from “natural” to built-up area.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
5: The themes and targets of the programme, section 5.5: The urban environment
and section 5.6: Coastal zones refer to land use planning as a tool for urban
growth management.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
7: Promoting sustainable human settlement development, section C defines that
all countries should “promote sustainable land-use planning and
management” through a national inventory of land resources and
classification of their best use.
International
conventions and agreements:
None.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
6
(44%)
Policy
Relevance:
1
(3.2)
Analytical
Soundness:
2
(3.1)
Responsiveness:
4
(2.7)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Land
resources by uses.
3 Significance
Purpose:
Land
conversion due to urbanisation is a major cause of loss of natural habitats and
biodiversity and the disruption of watersheds. The purpose of this indicator is
to monitor the trends in land use change and determine the pressure of urban
development patterns.
Relevance:
Land
conversion from natural to built-up area is a major source of impact associated
with urbanisation. The increase in land conversion is a relevant indicator of
increase in loss of open and green space and impervious surface.
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
The
conversion of land is linked to other indicators including UP-7: Inhabitants
per green area, LB-1: Protected area loss, LB-2: Wetland loss, LB-4:
Fragmentation of forests & landscapes, LB-10: Riverbank loss, ME-7:
Priority habitat loss, ME-8: Wetland loss, ME-3: Development along shore and
RD-3: Increase in territory permanently occupied by urbanisation;
infrastructure; waste-tipping and quarrying.
Targets:
None.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
conversion of land from “natural area” to built-up area per capita
is directly related to urban development patterns and particularly to
sub-urbanisation trends in European urban areas. Decentralisation of housing
and jobs in urban centres are major driving forces of land conversion per capita.
Measurement
methods:
Statistics
on land use change are made available by the FAO and by Eurostat. In addition
CORINE land cover provides information for selected European regions.
Limitations
of the indicator:
The
indicator is difficult to measure due to the problem of various definitions of
urban areas and the different land use classification systems across countries.
Alternative
definitions:
An
alternative measure of land conversion is share of land area for urban uses.
