What do we see?
In recent years we have seen a decrease in the amount of undeveloped land in Flanders. This is a direct consequence of the increase in building density. While there was still 984,358 ha of open space in Flanders in 2015, this had already decreased to 974,807 ha by 2019.
The majority of this open space is currently used for agriculture (63.5%), and 11% is forests. The remaining 25.4% is undefined.
What’s the aim?
Built-up areas have an influence on the natural carbon and water cycle. The consequences of this can be seen in the form of, among other things, higher emissions and water scarcity. In a circular economy, we want to preserve the open space to limit the influence on the natural cycles while still meeting the needs of the population. In order to maximise the open space, we need to aim for a more efficient use of our built-up areas.
What does this indicator measure?
This indicator shows the distribution of the amount of built-up area and open space in Flanders. The data comes from Statbel.
