Taking land seriously: tracing the politicization of the European ‘no net land take in 2050’ target

In 2011, the European Union set a target to reach ‘no net land take’ by 2050, essentially calling for a halt to urban development on greenfield sites. Given the implications for spatial planning – a competence of the member states – legislating this target is politically contentious. To investigate the treatment of land take within the recently enacted Soil Monitoring Law, a conceptual framework was developed that links politicization to phases of the European legislative process. Low politicization of land take was found during the policy formulation stage and in the European Commission’s proposal. An upswing followed in the Parliament and Council as national and special interests became mobilized. Potential politicization at the sub-European level was then estimated considering the case of the Netherlands. The analysis revealed conflict between policy subareas. It also demonstrated the utility of the conceptual framework for understanding European policy expansion processes more generally.