Land use; main categories; regional, 1900 onwards

Table description

Description topics

Total surface

Total surface of the Netherlands.

Transport

Area in use for traffic and transport on roads, on railways and in the air.

Railroad

Area in use for traffic and transport on railways.

Including
- slopes;
- dead end rails to industrial area;
- shunting area;
- railway yard including station buildings and adjacent parking areas.

Excluding
- narrow gauge, this is included at the adjacent land use.

Main road

Area in use for traffic and transport over the main road network.

Including
- roads with function of transportation artery;
- included green in connections with roads and inside roundabouts;
- parking areas;
- busstation;
- gasoilstation;
- storages for road maintenance.

Excluding
- included green, larger than 1 ha in use of agriculture or woodland;
- included water larger than 1 ha;
- main road under construction.

Built-up area

Area in use for residents, work, shopping, cultural facilities and public amenities.

Residential

Area mainly used for residents, including primary amenities.

Including
- housing areas;
- primary amenities e.g. (local) shops, primary schools;
- local offices of e.g. banks;
- green areas smaller than 1 hectare;
- streets and local parking areas;
- courtyards, gardens;
- playing grounds;
- trailer camp (excluding wreckage areas larger than 0,1 hectare).

If residential areas are inside woodland, the total area is assignated as residential if a street pattern can be recognized.

Industry, business, public institutions

Area in use for industry, retail and business services, for concentrated retail trade and catering activities and for general use, like community homes, police offices and utility services.

Semi built-up area

Area with a certain amount of paving, not in use as traffic area or built-up area.

Building site

Area in use for construction.

including
- area of construction or with preparing traces;
- fallow land on industrial- and office areas.

Recreation

Area in use for recreation.

Sport grounds

Area in use for sport activities.

Including
- area for fieldsport, including trotting and racing, golf area;
- swimming pool, ice skating place;
- sports hall and horse riding school;
- permanent motorcross area (including basic ones);
- associated stands;
- woodland if included in the sport area;
- associated parking areas and forest- or shrublines.

Minimum size of 0,5 hectare.

Agriculture

Area for agriculture.

Other agricultural usage

Area for agriculture without glass, like pastures, fields and orchards.

Including
- grassland (hayland and pastures) including the grass growns dikes and river forelands;
- area for cattle breeding;
- orchards, including underplanting, maintenance paths and windbreaks;
- horticulture and arable farming;
- cultivation of small fruits;
- scattered houses with associated yards and gardens, as far as they are in the middle or adjacent to agricultural area;
- natural grassland.

Woodland and nature

Area with forest or natural open area.

Woodland

Area with trees for wood production and nature conservation.

Including
- area with trees of which the crowns are a closed entity;
- cutting field;
- fire lane;
- forest path;
- nursery of forests;
- storage of wood;
- scattered houses, if placed inside the woodland;
- poplar fields.

Excluding
- wooded areas of parks;
- forest nurseries that are outside the woodland;
- residential areas (with a pattern of streets) and areas of recreational houses inside the woodland.

Natural open area

Open area with a wet or dry surface, mainly nature.

Water

Inland water total

Inland water in use as waterway, recreational water, mining area, sewage or sludge farm, water reservoir, including IJsselmeer.

Tidal water total

Water outside the average high tide.