SOIL CONSUMPTION
The continuous consumption of soil is a major concern for global communities and Public administration in charge of citizens’ safety and security. In Europe, the 7th Environmental Action Plan (7th EAP) identifies soil degradation as a serious challenge for European countries. In particular, soil sealing (the covering of soil by impermeable materials) is recognized as one of the main causes of soil degradation. In fact, soil sealing affects soil fertility, threats biodiversity, increases the risk of flooding and water scarcity, and contributes to global warming.
Since the mid 1950s the total surface area of cities has increased by 78 %, whereas the population has grown by only 33 %, in the EU according to the European Environment Agency. To control soil sealing, the EU Resource Efficiency Roadmap has the aim of reducing the annual land take from 1000 km² per year to 800 km² per year in EU by 2020.
In this framework, Earth Observation products offer continuous and frequent information from local to large geographic areas to observe and recognize soil use and evolution.
The SoCoA service is based on regular satellite monitoring and advanced AI
algorithms to provide very timely alerts about changes in land-use
and land-cover, detecting urban areas and new settlements.
By using SoCoA, competent authorities, professionals dealing with land planning and soil management,
stakeholders and individual citizens can control the territory and new construction activities,
and produce data statistics on soil consumption, to achieve their urban planning goals.

SoCoA service information can be efficiently integrated within the current
operational process of the Municipalities and other Administrations,
and can also be accessed through mobile devices and our web platform.