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CEROI home page
Indicators encyclopedia
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City Environmental Indicators Encyclopedia
Land use change
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Rationale - what it means and why it is an important measure
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The land, and the way it is managed, affects the entire environment. It is important to monitor changes in land use, especially facing rapid urbanization and urban sprawl. There is a continual need to reconcile the requirements for additional land for important uses such as housing, industry, commerce and retailing with a desire to protect the countryside and agriculture.
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How it is compiled, what data are needed
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Data on newly incorporated land: non-urban land that has been reclassified as urban land during the last year.
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Measurements and units
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Newly incorporated land (km2)
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Possible temporal and spatial format
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trend charts, maps, graphs
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Reference to methodology resources
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1994, UNCHS (Habitat)/UNDP/World Bank, Urban Management Programme, Discussion paper, p.34 http://www.unchs.org/unchs/english/ump/ump.htm
1996-1997, UN Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), Indicators of Sustainable Development, Framework and Methodologies.
gopher://gopher.un.org/00/esc/cn17/1996-97/indicators/LAND.IND%09%09%2B
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Objective
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To reduce urban sprawl.
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Targets, benchmarks, reference values
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Generally, international targets for this indicator do not exist. However, certain minimal contiguous limits or proportions of total land area have been established for certain needed or desirable land uses, for example protected areas.
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References to examples of application
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Other comments / background
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It is important to monitor changes in land use, especially facing rapid urbanization and urban sprawl. Urban sprawl is directed by land use and transport patterns, and is therefore largely influenced by current consumption trends. Today, consumption accounts for most of the pollution burden caused by households; final private consumption is growing much faster than the gross domestic product. Ultimately, this results in increased water and energy consumption, and waste generation.
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