Land Use
Land use is the way in which people use and develop the natural landscape to meet their requirements. Much of the UK has been modified by people at some point since it was first settled from Europe in around 8000BC.
People use land primarily for farming, in a variety of ways. First, they may use the land for planting crops, planting it annually with wheat, barley, potatoes or other crop species. According to a survey in 2005, 23% of the United Kingdom is used as arable land (intute.ac.uk World Guide). Land may also be used for grazing or housing livestock, for orchards, and for forestry or coppicing.
Land is also used for residential and recreational purposes, for building houses, public buildings, shops and parks. Some land may also set aside for transport; airports, railways and roads.
To learn more about land use and its history, choose a topic from the list below.
