People have the mistaken belief that much of the UK has been concreted over. Asked how much of the UK's land area is densely built on, the average estimate was 47%. The far more accurate figure-based on satellite images - highlighted by Professor Alasdair Rae is 0.1%. (Land is designated as "continuous urban fabric",CUF, under the Corine Land Cover Classification System if over 80% of ground is covered by artificial surfaces like buildings and roads.) While less than 6% of UK land is built-on.
The average Briton thinks 356 times more of our nation's land is concrete jungle than is the reality.This isn't just a minor misconception. The error helps to distort our mental picture of the UK and shift the politics of land use.
If the UK is viewed as a large football pitch, the people in the survey reckoned that almost all the ground between the goal-line and half-way line is densely developed when, in reality, it would fit into the tiny arc marked for taking a corner.
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