MAXIMISING LAND USE

1.1Urban Land Use

Mixed land use
Buildings have different uses on different floors.e.g. Commercial activities are on the ground floor,while residential flats on the upper floors.An example would be Compass Point in Singapore,with a condominium on the top floor and a shopping centre below.

High-density buildings
Due to higher demand for space in cities,buildings are built very close together and skyscrapers in Singapore,Shanghai and Hong Kong are built due to the fierce competition for land.

1.2Agricultural Land Use
Terracing
Terracing involves cutting steps into hillsides.The result looks like ripples and also increases the land space.

Hydroponics
Hydroponics does not require soil,only water.Hence, it takes up less space and benefits farmers.

Methods of Maximising Land Use

2.0LAND RECLAMATION

2.1Empoldering

Countries like the Netherlands and even Singapore use this method.In Netherlands,much of the country is below sea level.Thus,people build dykes to drain out the water to get more land.This is called empoldering.The red portion shows the reclaimed land from 1937-1988 when the Netherlands employed this method of land reclamation.

2.2Draining Swamps

This method requires the construction of a dyke that keeps out sea water.Freesh water is then brought in via canals.Excess water is then drained away to create land,mostly for agricultural purposes.One example is the Tanjong Karang Land Reclamation Scheme in Selangor,Malaysia.

2.3Restoring Derelict Land

When mining operations takes place,the soil and land become bare and when it rains, soil erosion takes place and restoration work is necessary.Examples are Bukit Timah,Bukit Batok and Pulau Ubin in Singapore, where mining activities took place.

Methods to Maximise Land Use

1.Deforestation
This method involves cutting down of forests to make space for commercial uses.It is carried out my logging companies that perform it in large scale.This happens extremely fast.In 1850,there was nearly 20million square kilometres of rainforest.By 2005,only 9-12 million square kilometres remain.The effects of deforestation are devastating.When deforestation occurs habitats are destroyed.Plants and animals lose their homes and the ecosystem is damaged.Soil erosion is also a big factor.When trees are cleared, the canopy that protects the soil from rain is exposed.When rain hits the exposed soil,it loses it fertility as the nutrients are washed downwards by the rain(leaching).Thus, deforestation is a very risky way of maximising land use,although its one of the fastest.The top 3 countries with the highest deforestation rate from 1990-2000 are:1.Brazil 2.Indonesia and 3.Sudan.They lost 8,915/5,065/3,702 square miles of forest respectively.