How much of your area is built on?

I think that people’s perceptions of the amount of land being built on is due, in many cases, to their vantage point being on a road. I flew aeroplanes for many years, providing a vantage point from which a clearer understanding of building density can be achieved. There really is far more unbuilt land than many believe.

The statistics are based on local government areas, so slightly flawed in some instances in terms of like for like comparisons. It shows the whole of Cornwall as an area, and City of London as an area. Interesting nevertheless though.

I would agree with JennyC about perception. Over the past fourteen years of flying in to LGW from our place in Spain it is surprising, even in the South East, how little is actually built upon. Yet on the ground it feels so much more congested.

Does it make any difference though? You would expect The City of London to be densely built but you would also expect Cornwall to be sparsely built. If you look at the percentages for Milton Keynes it is quite light on density but MK is a Unitary Authority which covers a massive area of sparsely populated North Buckinghamshire. Perhaps statistics are only available by local authority? I hope I have remembered this correctly but in one of his books Bill Bryson mentions that if London was as densely built at Paris it would have a population of 35 million!!!

David

The actual density of population per sq kilometre and then how much space per person overall in the UK gives an indication of real space available. I think the ONS quotes an average 261 people per sq km in 2011. But somewhere like London has over 4000 people per sq km which leaves a bit more room elsewhere! 

Thanks for that tip. It seems that only 22% is actually built on but given that 51% is classified as farmland I wonder if that colours my perception.

Given that Kirklees includes the conurbations of Dewsbury and Huddersfield the built up areas are all at one end of the district.

We seem to be above average in built on area at 16%, but we are on the outskirts of Glasgow.

Green urban area is good at 9%, Glasgow is known as the "dear green place".

Then we are 41% farmland and  34% natural.

There is a lot of building going on to fill in empty spaces, and a lot of brown field sites being used in the city, but the boundaries of the towns are being kept in  check by the planners.