Warehouse buildings in Germany: A new methodology for regional land use quantification

Abstract

In 2018, the building segment of warehouse buildings accounted for around a quarter of all newly constructed floor space in German non-residential buildings. Despite this great significance, there is a lack of in-depth analyses that look at construction activity in a differentiated manner by region and sector. As a consequence, little is known about the land-use implications of construction in this building segment. This paper presents a methodology to quantify the land use of warehouse buildings on a regional scale. Based on a dataset from the Research Data Centre for the years 2000 to 2015 and by applying GIS-supported conversion parameters, propositions on the small-scale nature of land use down to the municipal level are possible. It is apparent that the segment of warehouse buildings is characterized by concentration effects in three respects: the buildings are becoming larger and larger, they are increasingly being constructed by specialized logistics service providers and are spatially concentrated in only a few well-connected municipalities. As a result, contrary to the general trend, the land use of this segment is steadily increasing over time. A differentiated consideration of land use along spatial and functional contexts seems to be advisable for the success of national land-use targets.