Consequences of Limited Soil Protection In Cities of Central Europe Analyzed Through GIS Methods and Participatory Impact Assessment - URBAN SMS Project

Various methods were utilized for assessment of soil consumption patterns and trends in the cities of Central Europe within Urban Soil Management Strategy (URBAN-SMS) project. They included ex-post assessment of soil loss based on land use change data, modeling of future soil loss and participatory impact assessment. The major data inputs for ex-post and ex-ante assessments were satellite image based land use maps and soil maps. The participatory impact assessment involved series of meetings with stakeholders and collecting their opinions in a semi-quantitative form. Existing soil management systems in these cities did not efficiently protect the best soils until 2006. Continuation of current management would lead to further nonsustainable trends. The analysis revealed that there is no strong conflict between soil protection goals and demand for land related to economic development of the cities.