An analysis of the Land Use Sustainability Index (LUSI) at territorial scale based on Corine Land Cover

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology based on the use of a simple and accessible database, such as Corine Land Cover (CLC), for providing an in depth evaluation of environmental sustainability. This evaluation has been carried out through the analysis of factors such as landscape and habitat composition, the level of biodiversity, the degree of anthropisation and soil sealing and the arable land availability.Design/methodology/approach – Starting from the analysis of some of the existing approaches for the evaluation of environmental sustainability, this paper presents a GIS approach, based on the use of the Corine Land Cover (CLC), and other sources of geographical data, aimed at producing several thematic Environmental Sustainability Indicators, and one synthetic index.Findings – The proposed methodology was found to enable a satisfactory assessment of the environmental state, at territorial scale, starting from an easy accessible land use data set. The adopted approach is tailore...