MONET 2030: Urban sprawl

SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal description

"[…] many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity while not straining land and resources. […] The future we want includes cities of opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more."

Excerpt from Swiss target 11.4: Urban sprawl is halted and new construction occurs only within designated development areas and corridors. Farmland and nature are largely protected from building development. […]

Significance of the indicator
The indicator shows scattered buildings in a zone that has not been built on. Limiting these scattered constructions saves land and reduces the impact and cost of infrastructure. A reduction in urban sprawl, therefore, is a step towards sustainable development.

Help for interpretation
A landscape will become more subject to sprawl the more constructions are scattered and the lower the density of their use for residential or employment purposes.

International comparability
This indicator cannot be compared at international level.

Synthesis

The indicator is based on the urban sprawl measurement parameter, which quantifies and measures urban spraw for the entire country. The "Weighted urban sprawl" indicator is based on three measurement parameters: distribution of settlement areas (dispersion, DIS), urban penetration (UP), which takes the settlement area into account, and population and employment density (utilisation density, AD). These parameters are combined and weighted in order to measure the degree of urban sprawl. In this way, it is possible to compare landscapes of different dimensions.

Excerpt from Swiss target 11.4: Urban sprawl is halted and new construction occurs only within designated development areas and corridors. Farmland and nature are largely protected from building development. […]

International target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.