Land recycling in Europe

Land take, or the change from non-artificial to
artificial land cover, reflects on-going and often
conflicting claims on land. Some of the land that
is 'taken' for urban development is covered with
an impervious surface, which severely hampers
ecosystem functioning and the related delivery of
ecosystem services. However, when land is 'recycled',
land that was developed in the past and has become
available for redevelopment again is reused. Urban
densification, or infilling, can also prevent the
consumption of land that may be very valuable for
food production or recreation.
In this report, the processes of recycling and
densification are jointly referred to as 'land recycling
in its broad sense'. Land recycling can be considered
a response to the on-going pressures we as a society
apply to our land resources, particularly in the urban
fringe.