4 Demographic Change and Land Use
65
2011) was adopted in order to establish a connection to official statistics. The landuse classifications contained in the catalog were tied to activity sectors with the goal
of obtaining a problem-and-action-oriented overview of the issues.
The following activity sectors were established: agriculture, forestry, tourism,
settlement expansion,
2 transportation, and water management. In addition, although
it is not included in the AdV’s catalog of use types, the sector of nature conservation
was defined within the category of indirect land use. In addition to research aimed at
specific sectors, the review looked at studies into overlapping sectors, in particular
those with a focus on rural areas.
The search for sources focused on the Federal Republic of Germany, that is, the
review looked for findings regarding the impacts of demographic change on land use
that could be observed in Germany or that were held to be relevant for Germany. A
time frame of 2005–2012 was chosen.
3
The search for sources turned up a total of 222 publications (research reports,
monographs, multi-author volumes, and periodical articles) whose titles or subtitles
indicated that they addressed the issues under review. The sources were then examined to determine if they contained findings on the relationship between demographic
change and the selected sectors that were tangible and susceptible of analysis. This
resulted in the number of sources subjected to detailed examination being reduced
to 133 (for detailed information on these sources, see Behrens et al. 2012, 99–110).
With respect to the sources as a whole, it can be said that although there is now an
abundance of sources on the topics of demographics and population trends, those
numbers are greatly reduced when the field is narrowed down to the impacts of
demographic change on land use and even smaller when we look at specific land-use
types. Upon closer examination of the sources, moreover, it was found that the studies
frequently promised more in their titles than they actually delivered in substance.
The 133 sources that constituted the final selection were then assessed with respect
to the following three points: (1) general effects of demographic change per sector,
(2) effects of demographic change on land use per sector, and (3) ways to control or
respond to these effects.
2 Settlement expansion refers to the expansion of human settlements, including residential,
commercial, industrial and recreational areas.
3 The decision to restrict the review to Germany was made in order to be able to analyze the findings
within a single legal and administrative framework. The time frame was selected so that the review
could address current topics of interest, i.e., debates going back approximately ten years.
A second survey undertaken in early 2017 revealed that virtually no new studies on the issues
under review had been published since 2012. Isolated studies on settlement expansion were found.
Most noteworthy among them was the Environmental Report 2016 of the German Advisory Council
on the Environment, in particular the chapter titled “Land consumption and demographic change”
(SRU 2016).
The findings of the review can therefore still be seen as reflecting the current state of knowledge.
65
2011) was adopted in order to establish a connection to official statistics. The landuse classifications contained in the catalog were tied to activity sectors with the goal
of obtaining a problem-and-action-oriented overview of the issues.
The following activity sectors were established: agriculture, forestry, tourism,
settlement expansion,
2 transportation, and water management. In addition, although
it is not included in the AdV’s catalog of use types, the sector of nature conservation
was defined within the category of indirect land use. In addition to research aimed at
specific sectors, the review looked at studies into overlapping sectors, in particular
those with a focus on rural areas.
The search for sources focused on the Federal Republic of Germany, that is, the
review looked for findings regarding the impacts of demographic change on land use
that could be observed in Germany or that were held to be relevant for Germany. A
time frame of 2005–2012 was chosen.
3
The search for sources turned up a total of 222 publications (research reports,
monographs, multi-author volumes, and periodical articles) whose titles or subtitles
indicated that they addressed the issues under review. The sources were then examined to determine if they contained findings on the relationship between demographic
change and the selected sectors that were tangible and susceptible of analysis. This
resulted in the number of sources subjected to detailed examination being reduced
to 133 (for detailed information on these sources, see Behrens et al. 2012, 99–110).
With respect to the sources as a whole, it can be said that although there is now an
abundance of sources on the topics of demographics and population trends, those
numbers are greatly reduced when the field is narrowed down to the impacts of
demographic change on land use and even smaller when we look at specific land-use
types. Upon closer examination of the sources, moreover, it was found that the studies
frequently promised more in their titles than they actually delivered in substance.
The 133 sources that constituted the final selection were then assessed with respect
to the following three points: (1) general effects of demographic change per sector,
(2) effects of demographic change on land use per sector, and (3) ways to control or
respond to these effects.
2 Settlement expansion refers to the expansion of human settlements, including residential,
commercial, industrial and recreational areas.
3 The decision to restrict the review to Germany was made in order to be able to analyze the findings
within a single legal and administrative framework. The time frame was selected so that the review
could address current topics of interest, i.e., debates going back approximately ten years.
A second survey undertaken in early 2017 revealed that virtually no new studies on the issues
under review had been published since 2012. Isolated studies on settlement expansion were found.
Most noteworthy among them was the Environmental Report 2016 of the German Advisory Council
on the Environment, in particular the chapter titled “Land consumption and demographic change”
(SRU 2016).
The findings of the review can therefore still be seen as reflecting the current state of knowledge.