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In line with the European Commission's target, land take in Germany has to be reduced to net zero by 2050. This not only presupposes greater inner urban development and more efficient development outside existing settlements, but also puts a greater planning and political focus on renaturation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the implementation of no net land take policy using the example of the highly dense and urbanised federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Based on an online survey, the current and potential use of (planning) instruments to implement this policy in all 396 municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia was investigated. The findings suggest that the municipalities are not yet in a position to consistently implement no net land take. Particularly in the field of renaturation, this is often due to a lack of experience and uncertainties in the use of the existing (planning) instruments, but also to lacking awareness of the problem and a lack of political and social acceptance for higher housing densities. Since the necessary instruments are defined in current legislation and the concepts for implementation are generally known, it is important to support municipalities in using the available instruments and concepts even without direct pressure to act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening inner urban development is a guiding principle of Germany's sustainability policy and the key to achieving the 30-hectare target. To date, however, it is hardly possible to determine retrospectively the share of building construction activity realized as inner and outer urban development. On the one hand, there is the genuine fuzziness of the inner urban area (Innenbereich) as a spatial construct, and on the other hand, there is the lack of available small-scale data on building construction activity. Against this background, this paper presents for the first time a methodological approach to determine and evaluate the relevance of inner urban development for large areas and over longer periods of time for Germany. The method is applied for the federal state of North Rhine- Westphalia and the housing construction activity from 1979 to 2011. The result shows a positive trend, indicating that cities and municipalities have succeeded in realizing more housing as inner urban development over time. At the same time, significant differences between urban and rural areas are apparent. A central conclusion is therefore to support smaller municipalities in their efforts for more inner urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening inner urban development is a guiding principle of Germany's sustainability policy and the key to achieving the 30-hectare target. To date, however, it is hardly possible to determine retrospectively the share of building construction activity realized as inner and outer urban development. On the one hand, there is the genuine fuzziness of the inner urban area (Innenbereich) as a spatial construct, and on the other hand, there is the lack of available small-scale data on building construction activity. Against this background, this paper presents for the first time amethodological approach to determine and evaluate the relevance of inner urban development for large areas and over longer periods of time for Germany. The method is applied for the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the housing construction activity from 1979 to 2011. The result shows a positive trend, indicating that cities and municipalities have succeeded in realizing more housing as inner urban development over time. At the same time, significant differences between urban and rural areas are apparent. A central conclusion is therefore to support smaller municipalities in their efforts for more inner urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial structure of urban areas plays a major role in the daily life of dwellers. The current policy framework to ensure the quality of life of inhabitants leaving no one behind, leads decision-makers to seek better-informed choices for the sustainable planning of urban areas. Thus, a better understanding between the spatial structure of cities and their socio-economic level is of crucial relevance. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to quantify this two-way relationship. Therefore, we measured spatial patterns of 31 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. We rely on spatial pattern metrics derived from a Local Climate Zone classification obtained by fusing remote sensing and open GIS data with a machine learning approach. Based upon the data, we quantified the relationship between spatial pattern metrics and socio-economic variables related to 'education', 'health', 'living conditions', 'labor', and 'transport' by means of multiple linear regression models, explaining the variability of the socio-economic variables from 43% up to 82%. Additionally, we grouped cities according to their level of 'quality of life' using the socio-economic variables, and found that the spatial pattern of low-dense built-up types was different among socio-economic groups. The proposed methodology described in this paper is transferable to other datasets, levels, and regions. This is of great potential, due to the growing availability of open statistical and satellite data and derived products. Moreover, we discuss the limitations and needed considerations when conducting such studies. • We apply local climate zones representing cities by their density, building types, heights, greenness and land cover. • Socio-economic indicators can be modelled by means of urban spatial pattern metrics extracted from local climate zone maps. • Grouping cities into quality of life levels show similarities in the spatial pattern of low-dense built areas. • The proposed method helps to obtain empirical evidences that may contribute to urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]