Researchers from the University of Liverpool are part of a new European project to explore the challenges, drivers and barriers of making suburban areas more populated. The SUBDENSE project, which involves TU Dortmund University, the Institut national de l’information géographique et forestière (IGN) and the IOER Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, was recently launched in Dortmund. Densification, a term used to describe the increasing density of people living in an area, is considered to be crucial in reducing greenfield development whilst delivering much needed housing. Suburban areas have huge potential to become denser. Called SUBDENSE, the project will analyse the potential for densification in selected city regions in France, Germany and the UK through geospatial analysis as well as the role of landowners, stakeholders and policy makers to better understand where densification takes place and why. The project aims to better understand the spaces, stakeholders and policies involved in suburban densification through innovative methods that combine spatial analysis, cultural theory and planning research.
