Ehrhardt, D; Behnisch, M; Jehling, M and Michaeli, M (2023) Mapping soft densification: A geospatial approach for identifying residential infill potentials. Buildings & Cities, 4(1), pp. 193-211. ISSN 2632-6655
Abstract
Infill development policies have been widely adopted as strategies to reduce urban sprawl and to promote sustainable urban transformation. However, little empirical data are available to analyse infill processes and to facilitate building activity on infill potentials. This is especially true for small-scale residential infill, which often takes place on vacant or underused lots as soft densification. To address this issue, a geospatial method is presented that enables automatic detection of vacant lots for large areas. Cadastral data are used to analyse spatio-temporal development for the period 2011–21 in a German study area, containing large cites as well as rural municipalities. The results show that every fourth vacant lot was mobilised since 2011. However, additional vacant lots emerged in rural areas as new residential development areas are not fully built-up, resulting in a net increase of vacant lots. Although the quantity of vacant lot areas in 2021 suggests a high potential for residential infill, the main development on these infill sites is expected to promote additional single-family housing rather than more dense structures.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cadastral data; cities; densification; Germany; land use; planning; residential; urban expansion; urban infill; vacant lot |
| Index terms: | municipality, Germany, urban sprawl, strategy, densification, residential development, land use, transformation, mapping, single-family housing, rural area |
| Subjects: | Geography, construction type, administrative law, land use and regional development, business, urban form and morphology, spatial and geospatial analysis, urban design, real estate economics, management, economic development |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Urban Studies, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Legal Issues, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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