Derelict
areas
UP-10
Urban
Environmental Problems
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
% of total urban area which is vacant, underused, or neglected and often
contaminated as a result of industrial use.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
5: The themes and targets of the programme, section 5.5: The urban environment.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
7: Promoting sustainable human settlement development, calls among others for
the provision of “adequate shelter for all” and for the promotion
of “human settlement management in disaster-prone areas”.
International
conventions and agreements:
None.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
10
(12%)
Policy
Relevance:
17
(2.6)
Analytical
Soundness:
17
(2.4)
Responsiveness:
10
(2.5)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Percentage
of derelict urban area.
3 Significance
Purpose:
Derelict
and contaminated land is a major cause of environmental stress in urban areas.
The purpose of this indicator is to identify and regenerate such areas and to
monitor trends in derelict area reclamation.
Relevance:
Such
information is useful to identify opportunities for reuse of derelict areas and
for their future allocation aimed at providing the greatest sustainable
benefits for people.
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
This
indicator is linked to other indicators including UP-5: People endangered by
noise emissions, UP-9: Emissions of SO
2
and
NO
x,
UP-7:
Inhabitants per green area.
Targets:
Only
related targets exist such as reduction of noise levels (see UP-5), reduction
of SO
2
(AP-3)
and NO
x
(AP-1).
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
% of derelict area indicates the level of pressure in urban setting due to old
environmental contamination from industrial uses. It also indicates the
potential for regeneration and reuse for beneficial use.
Measurement
methods:
Data
on derelict land is collected at the municipal and national scales.
Limitations
of the indicator:
Major
problems are due to the different definitions and criteria used for identifying
derelict and contaminated land across different countries.
Alternative
definitions:
An
alternative measure of % derelict land is total derelict land classified by
levels of contamination.
