The demand on land for settlement areas, surface as well as subsurface infrastructure, as well as other uses such as landfill sites is constantly increasing. Land use in itself is in constant transition according to the needs of stakeholders (residential areas, industry, mobility/transports, recreation areas, housings etc). Urban expansion, population density and type of land use of the different regions - all affect the social, economic and environmental quality of cities and regions and have effects on the soil and city climate. The high demand leads to conflicting goals in regards to the use of land, for example, for settlement and infrastructure as well as green infrastructure in urban areas. Expanding areas with specific land uses are faced with the task of mobilizing land potentials despite the presence of a high level of competition for use. On the other hand, stagnant or shrinking regions have a surplus of land potentials which require concepts for deconstruction and the re-naturalisation of land. Brownfield remediation and recycling for urban use play a major role in saving soils for other purposes.
Main questions are
• How European cities can meet the challenge for inner development concepts in gaps in the built-up areas, brownfield regeneration, multifunctional and temporal uses, densification and the replacement of older constructions?
• How could stakeholders be involved new forms of cooperation such as that between planning and environmental administrations and public-private stakeholders? How could they contribute to solutions of the problems? What is required is the adaption of planning and administrative processes to current demands and at the same time the development of management strategies in cooperation with private land owners.