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Table 4 Selected indicators for measuring the sustainability of land consumption patterns

From: Exploring patterns and consequences of land consumption in a coastal city-region

Dimensions

Indicators

References

Sustainability

Social-physical

Population density

Schneider and Woodcock (2008), Dong et al. (2019), UNCHS (1996), UNCSD (2001), OECD (1993), EEA (2014), WHO (2012), Alberti (1996), Moussiopoulos et al. (2010)

The high density indicates sustainability and low per capita land consumption

Built-up density

Barbosa et al. (2017), Pili et al. (2017), OECD (1993), EEA (2014), WHO (2012)

High density indicates sustainability and low sprawl

Land-use intensity

Barbosa et al. (2017), OECD (1993), Yang et al. (2018)

The more is the intensity of land use, the more sustainable and efficient is the land consumption

Economic

Per capita income

Dijk and Mingshun (2005), UNCHS (1996), Moussiopoulos et al. (2010)

Per capita GDP is a suitable criterion to identify the standard level of living in a region. The high value of this indicator shows a higher quality of life and a positive impact on sustainability

GDP growth rate

Xian et al. (2019), UNCHS (1996), UNCSD (2001), OECD (1993)

The positive GDP growth rate shows the economic prosperity of the region. The negative GDP growth rate indicates economic stagnation and unsustainability

Economic efficiency

Xian et al. (2019), UNCSD (2001), Moussiopoulos et al. (2010)

The positive value of this indicator shows the high efficiency and sustainability

Environmental

Energy efficiency

UNCSD (2001), OECD (1993), EEA (2014)

Per capita green area

Zhang et al. (2010), EEA (2014), WHO (2012), OECD (1993)

The high per capita indicates the sustainability of the environment

Per capita land consumption

Dong et al. (2019), UNCSD (2001), OECD (1993), EEA (2014)

Sprawl cities with high per capita land consumption and high dependence on cars lead to more consumption of fossil fuels, more emission of greenhouse gases, and less sustainability