Demographic Change and Land Use

Abstract

Demographic change is increasingly being described as one of the central factors of human influence on land-use change. But do changes in population size and composition directly effect changes in land use? These reflections prompted the author and two colleagues to conduct a study aimed at (a) finding answers to the questions of whether and to what degree clear correlations between demographic change and observable land-use changes could be found in the existing literature, and (b) establishing what this means for regional studies and regional development policies. After presenting the methodological approach, the current state of knowledge regarding correlations between demographic change and land-use change is reflected and will finally be followed by conclusions and the need for further research.