Use case: cities and regions

Tracking land use change and urban expansion

Comparing satellite images of the same area over time shows where fields and open land have become roads, buildings and car parks. Copernicus layers map sealed ground at 10 m across Europe and land use in larger cities in detail, so a region can measure land take, follow urban expansion and check new development against its plans.

Reference
UC-05
Technologies
  • Earth observation
  • Satellite navigation
Industry
Challenge
Land use and vegetation
Updated
Published by
LETO SPACE

01When you need it

Why land take matters

Every new road, roof and car park seals soil. The EU aims for no net land take by 2050 Source: European Commission, EUR-Lex, 17 November 2021European Commission, EUR-LexEU Soil Strategy for 2030: Reaping the benefits of healthy soils for people, food, nature and climate, COM(2021) 699 final17 November 2021Open source (opens eur-lex.europa.eu), and regions and municipalities need to know how much land they take and where.

Sealed ground also changes how a city copes with weather: less rainwater soaks away, which raises surface runoff and flood risk, and urban expansion and densification often contribute to urban heat islands Source: Copernicus, land.copernicus.eu, accessed 4 October 2026land.copernicus.euCopernicus Land Monitoring Service: High Resolution Layer Imperviousnessaccessed 4 October 2026Open source (opens land.copernicus.eu). Land take is therefore part of heat and heavy-rain planning, not only of land use statistics.

02Technology

How it works

Change detection compares images of the same area from two or more dates and marks what has changed, for example from field or meadow to sealed or built-up land.

Illustrative comparison, not real data. Earlier: open land and fields at the edge of a town. Later: the same parcels with new streets, roofs and car parks.
  • Field or open land
  • Sealed or built
  • New since earlier
Drag or tap to move the line, or use the arrow keys.

Sentinel-2 is used to map green urban areas and urban sprawl and to classify land use Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1: Urban development and cultural heritage26 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service provides three ready-made layers that differ in detail and coverage:

Satellite positioning adds the ground truth. Surveying with GNSS, together with Earth observation, provides accurate maps of urban areas for planning Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1: Urban development and cultural heritage26 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu), for example when a detected change is checked against the cadastre.

03Deliverables

What you get

Land use monitoring turns a series of images into numbers and maps that planning and reporting can use.

  • Sealing maps and statistics per municipality or district, for land take indicators and targets.
  • Change maps between two dates that show where and how much land has been built on.
  • Expansion patterns at the edge of towns and along roads, for regional and spatial planning.
  • Leads for planning control, where new structures appear outside of zoned areas. Earth observation can detect illegal buildings Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu).

04Limits

Limits

05Use cases

06Next steps

Find providers and get started

Providers offer land cover maps, change detection and monitoring services on top of the free Copernicus layers. The Spacegraph marketplace has categories for land cover and land use and for change detection.

Which layer or service fits depends on the indicator you report, the smallest change you need to see and how often you need an update. We help you decide that before you buy, starting from your planning goals.

Strategy and use cases

Frequently asked questions

Q1Which satellite data shows land take, and how often is it updated?

The Copernicus imperviousness layer maps sealed ground at 10 m from Sentinel-2 data and is updated every three years Source: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Copernicus Land Monitoring ServiceImperviousness Density 2018 (raster 10 m and 100 m), Europe, 3-yearlyaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens land.copernicus.eu). CORINE Land Cover describes 44 classes across Europe and is updated every six years Source: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Copernicus Land Monitoring ServiceCORINE Land Coveraccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens land.copernicus.eu). Where a region needs a more recent picture, current Sentinel-2 images can be analysed directly; with two satellites they cover the same place every five days Source: European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWikiSentinel-2 missionaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens sentiwiki.copernicus.eu).

Q2Can satellite data detect building without a permit?

It can point to it. Earth observation can detect illegal buildings and help verify cadastral information Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). A detected change is a lead, not proof: it has to be checked against the permits and, where needed, on site.

Q3How do we start a pilot for land use monitoring?

Start with the indicator you have to report or the plan you want to check, for example land take against a regional target or development at the edge of a town. Then compare what the free Copernicus layers show with your own cadastre and planning data, and decide whether you need more detail or more frequent updates.

Sources (8)

  1. Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Imperviousness Density 2018 (raster 10 m and 100 m), Europe, 3-yearly (opens land.copernicus.eu)
  2. land.copernicus.eu, accessed 4 October 2026Copernicus Land Monitoring Service: High Resolution Layer Imperviousness (opens land.copernicus.eu)
  3. Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Urban Atlas Land Cover/Land Use and Street Tree Layer 2012 and 2018: Product User Manual (opens library.land.copernicus.eu)
  4. Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026CORINE Land Cover (opens land.copernicus.eu)
  5. European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki, accessed 6 October 2026Sentinel-2 mission (opens sentiwiki.copernicus.eu)
  6. EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1 (opens euspa.europa.eu)
  7. EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1: Urban development and cultural heritage (opens euspa.europa.eu)
  8. European Commission, EUR-Lex, 17 November 2021EU Soil Strategy for 2030: Reaping the benefits of healthy soils for people, food, nature and climate, COM(2021) 699 final (opens eur-lex.europa.eu)

Contact

Which land use change does your region have to track, and for which report or plan?

Prefer to talk?

Tell one of our experts about your project. Together we work out where you stand, whether satellite data and AI can help and what a sensible next step would be.

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