Status: 02/28/2023 11:11 a.m
In Germany, settlement and traffic areas have grown by an average of 55 hectares every day in recent years. That’s the equivalent of about 77 soccer fields. In the future, the federal government wants to significantly reduce this land use.
New residential buildings, parks and streets: Every day in Germany, an average of 55 hectares are newly developed for settlement and traffic areas. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office after evaluating the figures for the years 2018 to 2021. The daily land consumption added up to a size that corresponds to about 77 football pitches. By 2030, the government wants to limit this consumption to less than 30 hectares per day. This also applies to new house and front gardens, cemeteries, campsites and playgrounds.
Land use harms the environment
Land is a finite resource. As early as January 2017, as part of the sustainability strategy, the federal government decided to limit land use. By 2050, the government is aiming for a circular economy. Then, net, no more new areas are to be developed for settlement and transport purposes.
As justification, the Federal Ministry for the Environment writes on its website:
Land consumption often destroys valuable (arable) soil. Rural areas are being urbanized. Unsplit landscape areas, important for our flora and fauna, are being lost.
Another problem identified by the federal government is the utilization of infrastructure, which would decrease with increasing urban sprawl. These consequences would increase further if the population shrank due to demographic change.
Fields and forests cover most of Germany
According to statistics, areas for agriculture make up 50.5 percent of the total area of the Federal Republic, forest areas almost 30 percent and woody areas 1.2 percent. Settlement and traffic areas account for 14.5 percent of the area: 9.4 percent are settlement areas and 5.1 percent traffic areas.