Land take, driven by urban expansion and the development of transport, industrial, and energy infrastructure, involves the conversion of natural, agricultural, and semi-natural land into artificial surfaces. It can lead to negative environmental consequences, impacting ecological functions and biodiversity. It also increases risks related to flooding, heat stress, and habitat fragmentation. As land is a finite resource, limiting land take has become a pressing issue for spatial planning and regional development.
International policy frameworks increasingly address this issue. For example, the UN Sustainable Development Goals include targets for land take reduction. Similarly, the EU aims to achieve no net land take (NNLT) by 2050. At the same time, non-EU countries such as Norway are exploring related approaches, including area neutrality.
While none of the Nordic countries have set explicit NNLT targets, sustainable land use and nature-positive strategies are well established in Nordic planning traditions. Implementing these strategies, however, remains challenging. Authorities need to balance environmental objectives with competing demands for housing, industry, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Project focus
This project examines how land use interests are balanced in Nordic rural areas and urban fringes within the context of the green transition. Key questions address ways to reduce land take and promote nature-positive outcomes. The project explores governance frameworks, planning systems, and implementation practices. It also analyses how responsibilities, tools, and coordination are distributed across national, regional, and local levels.
The research combines a comparative analysis of policies and governance arrangements across the Nordic countries with municipal-level case studies. Additionally, it creates a space for dialogue among planning authorities, landowners, businesses, and civil society actors. This approach allows stakeholders to share perspectives, identify challenges, and propose practical solutions.
Project structure
The project is structured in three phases:
1. Policy analysis and governance review
The first phase maps NNLT and alternative nature-positive strategies across the Nordic countries, including EU perspectives and varying approaches in non-EU member states. The analysis covers policy drivers, planning systems, land-use instruments, and the alignment of governance frameworks with environmental objectives.
2. Municipal case studies
Given the central role of municipalities in Nordic policy implementation, the second phase investigates how Nordic municipalities manage land to reduce land consumption and support nature-positive outcomes. Case studies shed light on which nature areas receive priority and why, as well as how planning tools and obligations shape implementation. This includes how obligations and goals related to nature-positive strategies interrelate with or challenge other development pressures and barriers that limit policy uptake.
3. Synthesis and dissemination
The final phase combines findings from the governance review and case studies. Key results will be compiled in a project report. A cross-Nordic knowledge-sharing event will offer an opportunity to share views and discuss the findings. These outputs aim to support policy development, strengthen implementation practices, and inform coordinated land-use strategies across the Nordic Region.
Overall, the project aims to provide knowledge and practical approaches to support national, regional, and local authorities in developing and implementing more coordinated and effective land use policies that balance different development objectives and environmental sustainability.
This research project is a part of the Nordic thematic group for land use, prioritisation and planning. The Nordic thematic groups contribute to the Nordic co-operation Programme for Regional Development and Planning 2025-2030 under the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Committee of Senior Officials for Regional Policy (EK-R).
Nordregio is also part of the international Working Group “Land Take in Europe – In Pursuit of Net Zero” of ARL International (Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association) 2026-2028. Nordregio is represented by Anna Granath Hansson.
