THE EXTENT OF SOIL SEALING

Europe: 200m² of sealed land per inhabitant

Soil sealing is primarily concentrated in cities: In 2006, around 47% of urban land in Germany was sealed (Institute of Regional Development Planning, University of Stuttgart, 2012), this corresponds to 5% of the total land area of Germany (European Commission, 2011). Every day, an additional 27 hectares of land is sealed, primarily due to the steady expansion of the transport network (Federal Office of Statistics, 2013).