Sustainable urban land management is referring to SDG Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Cities build diversified and dynamic economies, and become the key engines of development (by 2030, almost 60% European population lives in cities, towns and suburbs . It is widely recognized that cities play a vital role in social and economic development of all European countries. However many growing and shrinking cities have difficulties related to economic, environmental and societal problems closely related to the transition of land. Sustainable urban land management is essential for innovative and effective approach of urban policy (e.g. compact cities, smart cities, healthy cities…). Increasing urban density reduces the effectiveness of urban solutions to hazards management and increases the need for costly engineering solutions. That’s why one of most important questions is: How to improve the cross-sectoral implication of urban development? The other important part of urban land management is referring to the necessity of efficient (re)use of land resources: such as water, energy, and reuse of derelict, degraded and post- industrial urban sites. That's why is important to establish integrated solutions related to the multiple reused urban land, including those areas which recognised as a city’s brownfield’s.
Main challenge for sustainable urban management is to find ways of balancing the needs and pressures of urban growth with the opportunities and constraints of the environment. Once a solution was found and agreed, implementation structures are required to avoid deadlocks. In this context further research-fields are: impacts of demographic change, economical effects of urban sprawl, nature protection in urban space role of urban green infrastructure and nature – based solution, brownfield revitalisation, improvement of quality and efficiency of urban infrastructure, (multifunctional use and flexibility of buildings and infrastructure), governance of urban structure such as, urban agglomeration, polycentric conurbation and functional urban areas.