Multiscale assessment of land use efficiency in functional urban areas of Munich and Augsburg

Abstract. This study aims to understand the spatio-temporal variations in land use efficiency (LUE) estimations at different scales of assessment, focusing on the per-capita built-up area within the Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) of Munich and Augsburg, Germany. The analysis is done for the time epochs 1985, 1995, 2005, 2015 and 2020. FUAs are defined as the economic area of influence in each urban area, making the study of land consumption in FUAs crucial for spatial planning and policy analysis. Land use efficiency is computed using built up surface and population data extracted from the Global Human Settlement Layer. This is done at municipal level and 100 m grid level. Furthermore, the effects of using high resolution building footprints for LUE computations are assessed. The analysis shows that urban cores and the adjacent regions are densifying with lower per capita built surface consumption while smaller urban areas utilise more per capita built surface leading to inefficent land use. It is also observed that higher resolution assessments helps in identifying varying intra-regional LUE estimates for a focused urban planning strategy development. Our study concludes that land use efficiency has generally decreased over time in the commuting zones of FUAs while the urban cores have remained efficient.