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"plaintext": " Monitoring land take within cities and their commuting zones serves a valuable insight into urban sprawl and the land conversion rate present in and around urban areas . The total net land take estimated within cities and commuting zones during 2012-2018 was 2,459km\u00b2 (annual rate: 409km\u00b2/year) and 1,622km\u00b2 in 2018-2021 (annual rate: 540km\u00b2/year). This represents an increase of about 32% in the average yearly rate between the two periods.",
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"plaintext": "Conversion of natural land to artificial surfaces continues to undermine ecological functions and weaken ecosystem resilience. The EU Member State average net land take increased by about 32% in cities and their commuting zones, from 410km\u00b2/year during 2012-2018 to 540km\u00b2/year in 2018-2021. Most conversions affected cropland and pastures, followed by forests. Achieving the EU's goal of no net land take by 2050 will require major reductions amid ongoing urban expansion. However, given the upward trend observed between 2012 and 2021, Europe is currently likely off track to meet this target.",
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Supporting information
Methodology
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"text": "The indicator tracks net land take in urban areas, specifically within cities and commuting zones across the EEA-38 member and cooperating countries using Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) as the reporting unit. The indicator covers two periods, 2012-2018 and 2018-2021, relying strictly on the overlap areas available in both Urban Atlas change datasets (more information below in the Caveats and Notes section). Net land take is calculated by also considering the \u2018reverse land take\u2019 process, i.e. when urban areas are converted to semi-natural land. For example, this may occur when a former mineral extraction site becomes forested. Thus, net land take is the result of subtracting the total land taken with the land restored, expressed in km\u00b2. "
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"text": "Classification and Charts: Net land take figures are reported at land cover level 2 of the Urban Atlas classification, ensuring comparability between the two change periods. Only the overlap area is considered for calculating the share of total FUA area, and all absolute figures are based on yearly averages. "
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"text": "The delineation of Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) is a process led by Eurostat in collaboration with the national statistical authorities of the Member States, who regularly update these to accurately reflect the extents of cities and commuting zones. The Urban Atlas production adhere to these updates which results in slightly different mapping extents each reference year due to either shrinkages or expansions of some FUAs. Hence, when producing change layers, i.e. comparing two reference years (e.g. 2021 vs. 2018), it is only possible for where the two FUA-extents overlap. Consequently, the net land take calculation is confined to these overlap areas, which leads to a slight underestimation."
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Data sources and providers
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Definition
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"text": "This net land take indicator tracks changes in agricultural, forest, and semi-natural land converted to urban or uses considered as artificial, such as buildings, infrastructure, urban green areas, sport and leisure facilities. It covers both land taken for housing, industry, transport, or extractive activities and, on the inverse, land restored from artificial to natural states. Calculated as the difference between land taken and land re-naturalised, it measures the net loss of natural and semi-natural land more accurately. Definition of how EEA measures land take is further described the "
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"text": ". The definition is dependent on the mapping methodology and nomenclature structure of the Urban Atlas dataset. Table 1 presents the division of urban and semi-/natural classes used for the land take calculations. Additional information on the land use included in these classes is available in the "
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"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "32000: Herbaceous vegetation associations"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "12210: Fast transit roads and associated land"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "33000: Open spaces with little or no vegetations"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "12220: Other roads and associated land"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "40000: Wetlands"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "12230: Railways and associated land"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "50000: Water"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "12300: Port areas"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "12400: Airports"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "13100: Mineral extraction and dump sites"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "13300: Construction sites"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "13400: Land without current use"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "14100: Green urban areas"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "td"
}
],
"type": "tr"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "14200: Sports and leisure facilities"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "td"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "p"
}
],
"type": "tr"
}
],
"type": "tbody"
}
],
"type": "table"
}
]
Unit of measure
[
{
"children": [
{
"text": "km\u00b2 and percentage"
}
],
"type": "p"
}
]
Policy / environmental relevance
[
{
"children": [
{
"text": "The net land take indicator is a key measure of land conversion pressure and ecosystem degradation in Europe. Land take drives habitat loss, biodiversity decline, soil sealing, and reduced ecosystem resilience, undermining climate mitigation, food security, and, in some cases, human well-being. "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "It is central to several key EU policy frameworks: the "
},
{
"type": "link",
"data": {
"url": "https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en"
},
"children": [
{
"text": "Biodiversity Strategy 2030"
}
]
},
{
"text": " identifies it as a core threat; the Soil Strategy 2030 recalls the existing \u201cno net land take\u201d goal by 2050 set in the 7"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "th"
}
],
"type": "sup"
},
{
"text": " EAP; and the Nature Restoration Regulation mandates restoring 20% of EU land and sea by 2030 and halting green space loss in cities. These strategies further align with the "
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "UN global sustainable development goals"
}
],
"data": {
"url": "https://sdgs.un.org/goals"
},
"type": "link"
},
{
"text": " on land degradation neutrality (SDG 15.3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). The net land take indicator thus provides a critical metric for monitoring progress towards these international targets and for evaluating the effectiveness of EU-wide and national policies. By tracking conversion of natural to artificial surfaces, the indicator informs policy on unsustainable urban expansion and hence supports evidence-based decision-making, promoting urban densification, planning, zoning, and land recycling. However, despite these policy efforts, current trends show a rise in net land take, underscoring the need for stronger land-use action across Europe. "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "This indicator is a headline indicator for monitoring progress towards the "
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "8th Environment Action Programme (8th EAP)"
}
],
"data": {
"url": "https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/environment-action-programme-2030_en"
},
"type": "link"
},
{
"text": ". It contributes mainly to monitoring aspects of the 8th EAP Article 2.1. that requires that \u2018by 2050 at the latest, people live well, within the planetary boundaries in a well-being economy where nothing is wasted, growth is regenerative, climate neutrality in the Union has been achieved and inequalities have been significantly reduced. A healthy environment underpins the well-being of all people and is an environment in which biodiversity is conserved, ecosystems thrive, and nature is protected and restored, leading to increased resilience to climate change, weather- and climate-related disasters and other environmental risks. The Union sets the pace for ensuring the "
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "'prosperity of present and future generations globally, guided by intergenerational responsibility\u2019"
}
],
"data": {
"url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2022/591/oj/eng"
},
"type": "link"
},
{
"text": ". The European Commission "
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "8th EAP monitoring Communication"
}
],
"data": {
"url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2022%3A357%3AFIN"
},
"type": "link"
},
{
"text": " specifies that this indicator should monitor whether the EU is on track to meet the \u2018no land take by 2050\u2019 target. "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": ""
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "\u2018No net land take\u2019 is also addressed in the land degradation neutrality (LDN) target of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which aims to maintain the amount and quality of land resources. LDN is promoted by target 15.3 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which, by 2030, strives to combat desertification and to restore degraded land and soil. Land and soil are also linked to goals that address sustainable agriculture and food security (SDG 2), access to clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), the environmental impact of urban sprawl (SDG 11), climate change (SDG 13) and life on land (SDG 15). "
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "The EU biodiversity strategy to 2030"
}
],
"data": {
"url": "https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en"
},
"type": "link"
},
{
"text": "\u00a0calls for the restoration of at least 15% of degraded ecosystems in the EU and the expansion of the use of green infrastructure, e.g. to help overcome land fragmentation. "
}
],
"type": "p"
}
]
Frequency of dissemination
3
Accuracy and uncertainties
[
{
"children": [
{
"text": "While the Urban Atlas data benefit from rigorous photointerpretation and have a thematic accuracy generally above 80%, several sources of uncertainty remain: "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": " "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Minimum Mapping Unit and Spatial Resolution: The Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) differs between urban and rural contexts. For urban areas, the MMU for detecting changes is 0.1 hectares, allowing identification of relatively small changes common in densely built environments. For rural and semi-natural areas, the MMU for detecting changes is 0.25 hectares, reflecting coarser granularity in less developed landscapes. Changes smaller than these thresholds are excluded or aggregated, potentially underestimating very fine-scale land take."
}
],
"type": "li"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Change Detection and Classification Errors: While the Urban Atlas accounts for conversions from artificial to agricultural or natural land, i.e. re-naturalisation, such changes may be underestimated due to classification limitations and interpretation challenges."
}
],
"type": "li"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Temporal Gaps and Data Processing: The datasets are generated for discrete years (for example, 2012 and 2018), so actual land cover changes occurring between these intervals can be temporally imprecise. Differences in methodologies or data availability across years can introduce inconsistencies."
}
],
"type": "li"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Underrepresentation of Rural Large-scale Processes: This indicator addresses the net land take in cities and communing zones. Some extensive land conversion activities outside these areas are therefore missed, leading to underestimation of total net land take."
}
],
"type": "li"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Regional Variability: Classification accuracy can vary by geographic context due to differences in landscape complexity and heterogeneity. "
}
],
"type": "li"
}
],
"type": "ul"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "The Urban Atlas 2018 dataset demonstrates high thematic accuracy, with "
},
{
"type": "link",
"data": {
"url": "https://land.copernicus.eu/en/technical-library/urban-atlas-2018-validation-report/@@download/file"
},
"children": [
{
"text": "observed accuracy rates exceeding specification thresholds for both urban and rural land classes after plausibility check"
}
]
},
{
"text": "s. However, uncertainties remain due to unclear class definitions and the challenges of distinguishing certain land types. Particularly when only mono-temporal imagery is available. Additionally, positional accuracy could not be conclusively evaluated for the 2018 reference year due to a lack of assessment of the underlying very high resolution imagery. While logical, domain, and topological consistency criteria were met, continuous enhancements in class definitions, temporal data coverage, and validation completeness are being assessed to further strengthen the dataset's reliability and reduce remaining uncertainties. The validation of Urban Atlas 2018-2021 dataset is starting in Q4 2025 and will be published during 2026, and therefore the data might be a subject to revisions. "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": " "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Despite these uncertainties, Urban Atlas remains the most detailed and harmonised pan-European land cover product available for urban areas, providing robust trend and spatial pattern information. The calculated net land take values should be regarded as conservative estimates of true land conversion. "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": " "
}
],
"type": "p"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Ongoing efforts to improve spatial and temporal resolution, classification algorithms, and to validate datasets will continually enhance indicator accuracy. The current data support reliable monitoring and policy assessment for sustainable land management. "
}
],
"type": "p"
}
]
