Pressure to Grow vs. Sustainability

Sealing surfaces, especially green spaces, is detrimental to the environment and the climate. For this reason, the German government aims to reduce land consumption to "net zero" by 2050. However, municipalities are building even more: 52 hectares of land disappear under asphalt and concrete every single day. 

The study "Doomed to grow? German municipalities in the stranglehold of a growth logic – a policy analysis of barriers to a circular urban transformation" by the Wuppertal Institut shows: The German financing system for municipalities actually promotes increasing land consumption. "In order to secure revenue from business and income tax, cities are under enormous pressure to continuously designate new residential and commercial areas", explains Oliver Wagner, Co-Head of the Energy Policy Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute.

Wuppertal tops the list for land consumption

With over a third of its area covered with green space, Wuppertal is actually one of Germany’s greenest cities. Nevertheless, the scientists discovered in their analysis that it has the highest land consumption in relation to the available settlement area. "Reasons for this could include individual large infrastructure projects or several measures to establish commercial space in the specific year under review. That is why we have classified this as a statistical outlier", explains Bettina Bahn-Walkowiak, Senior Researcher in the Urban Transitions Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute. However, this coincidental finding highlights the contradiction between ambitious strategies and actual practice in reality.

The path to circular urban transformation

The study showcases a number of approaches leading towards a circular urban development, such as land recycling instead of greenfield sites, urban mining and, above all, the consistent conversion of existing buildings and vacant properties. But for these measures to work, the financial framework for municipalities must be improved, say the researchers. This is because as long as municipalities are rewarded for land sealing, sustainability strategies often remain nothing more than declarations of intent.

The study "Doomed to grow? German municipalities in the stranglehold of a growth logic – a policy analysis of barriers to a circular urban transformation" is available as a peer-reviewed article in Frontiers in Sustainability (Vol 6, 2025) via the link below..