Features of land use in European countries

The article presents a comparative analysis of the structure of the land fund of European countries. The analysis of agricultural, forestry, housing and other types (types) of land use and land ownership of European countries in comparison with Ukraine. The condition and saturation of the infrastructural objects of the investigated territories are analyzed. The researches of the specific land use in EU countries significantly increased after Ukraine had elected the European Integration vector. Equally important is the issue of the research of effective land use for different economic purposes by European land users as the main basis of their economic activity. The analysis of the land-use condition and the experience of EU countries can be used as a vector of effective and rational land-use and it can be a guide in organization of effective land policy with further integration into European space. The works of domestic and foreign scientist were devoted to actual questions of study of the modern condition and prospective use of urbanized, natural and agricultural areas – they are D.S.Dobriak, C.N.Volkova, Y.F.Dehtiarenko, SH.I.Ibatullin, O.P.Kanash, M.G.Lyhoghrud, A.G.Martyn, Y.M.Paleha, A.M.Tretiak, V.M.Drughak, A.Y.Stupen’, A.Smith, J.Keynes, V.Kristaller, P.Krugman, R.Lucas and others. At the same time the prospective of intensified land-use as the main spatial of production basis was not researched enough. Comparative characteristic of land-use structures is still actual, that gives an opportunity to assess the effectiveness оцінити ефективність and prospects for further use of land potential. Setting targets consists in identification of features and comparative assessment of the land state, natural landscape systems and areas with different levels of urbanization within countries of the European Union and Ukraine . Summarising the results of the research it leads to the following conclusions: • by analysing the structure of land-use in EU countries we find a significant heterogeneity in it’s structure; • the structure of Ukrainian agricultural land-use in comparison to the European one is 44% bigger, that says about excessive area development; • the area of forested and other environmentally sustainable lands of the country is 37,9% lower than the European average. European vector of economic development, chosen by Ukraine, has got large area of intensive land use in it’s structure and relatively small area of forest, environmental land,that negatively impacts on protection and preservation of land resources of the country. It shapes export-oriented and transitlogistic economy of the country