Land as a production factor occupies a special position in the economic activities of the urban population. Land resources in big cities are not only territorial basis for placing industrial and production structures, but also a space for urban life in general. However, to assess the effectiveness of urban land use, primarily the ecological and economic potential of the use of the urban land resources should be determined aimed at sustainable development of urban agglomerations (Volodchenkov, 2010). The rapid pace of development of large cities in the world and an increase of their impact on the environment and society is accompanied by the set of economic, ecological and social problems which significantly influence the development of settlements in general (Stolʹberh, 2000; Onyshchuk, 2001). However, the process of urbanization as a result of rapid scientific and technological revolution requires large areas for deployment of large scale production facilities and urban settlements in the conditions of natural resource management (Kontorovich, Rivkin, 1986).

The priority objective of the residential urban areas development – to improve the quality of life, sustainable development principles in order to form compact urban areas and polycentric functionally and socially integrated urban and suburban structure with the help of efforts of general public institutions as well as natural and legal persons. A living area today must comply with the needs of population from various social layers, so, when planning residential areas, it is necessary to assess the varied potential of the population needs and the quality of life expression. Therefore the article seeks to find out attitudes to residents’ environment, development of social services network, infrastructure condition, functional and planned structure of the area. For the implementation of the objective, the programme in the research sites has been prepared. This programme allows multifaceted examination of existing residential areas, the assessment of their physical condition, public opinion, public needs, comments and suggestions of professionals. After analysing the results of the research and drafting conceptual principles, it can be stated that the future of Lithuanian residential districts and cities depends on the territorial spatial planning system, which is affected by the free market and democratic society. Territorial spatial planning of residential microdistricts or blocks is the key to building sustainable and attractive cities.

This research study explores urban planning for transport sustainability in two cities Kaunas (Lithuania) and Jelgava (Latvia). As part of the analyses, a transport sustainability was compared in relation to three main aspects – economy, environment and society. The aim of this research is to review the existing transport system in two cities – Kaunas and Jelgava, and to evaluate their sustainability in environmental, social and economic dimensions. The study is based on the information about configuration and location of the existing transport system in two cities – Kaunas and Jelgava. It is important to submit proposals to decision making bodies in order to improve sustainability of transport.

The article presents the comparative analysis of the Kaunas city anthropogenic landscape change during the period between 2006 and 2014. For this analysis the land fund statistics of the Republic of Lithuania were used. The components of anthropogenic landscape change are graphically shown in the figures. During the analysis the Kaunas city statistics were compared with the data of Kaunas County and the Republic of Lithuania. Comparative, analytical as well as statistical and logical analysis methods were used for the investigation. The object of the investigation is anthropogenic components of Kaunas city. The aim of the investigation is to carry out the analysis of the change of Kaunas city anthropogenic components in the period of 2006-2014. The work analyses the change of urban landscape components, the reasons of the established change. The built up territories comprise the majority of anthropogenic landscape of Kaunas city i.e. 90.05 per cent, while the damaged territories make up 0.06 per cent and Kaunas city roads constitute 9.89 per cent of the analysed landscape. It was established that during the analysed period the built-up territories of Kaunas city increased by 312.78 ha i.e. 3.53 per cent. Within 9 years the road area increased by 14.04 ha or 1.44 per cent, while the damaged areas increased by 1.89 ha. Having analysed the statistical data of Kaunas city anthropogenic landscape areas it was estimated that within the period of 2006 -2014 the area of these territories increased by 328.71 ha or 3.34 per cent. e area of these territories increased by 328.71 ha or 3.34 per cent.

Accessibility is a popular concept in many research areas, including spatial planning, where it denotes the possibility of reaching a specific location. Accessibility is not a characteristic feature of a single location: it is always measured between at least two locations (places), and it is strictly determined by the mode of transport. Subject to the evaluated parameter, accessibility falls into different categories, including physical accessibility which is defined by distance (meters, kilometers), temporal accessibility which is expressed in minutes and hours, and economic accessibility which is denoted by cost. In highly urbanized areas and their rural outskirts, spatial policies need to be coordinated to guarantee the effective distribution of functions and services. The optimization of accessibility should be the key goal of spatial policies adopted at both local and metropolitan level. The aim of this study was to analyze the applicability of public data sources and GIS tools for analyzing and improving spatial accessibility. A wide range of tools and data supports detailed evaluations of the spatial coverage and effectiveness of services (public and commercial), multi-objective optimization of planned locations and determination of the optimal service areas (with the use of gravitation and potential methods). Spatial planning is a process of selecting the optimal and rational functions for the existing space. A very wide variety of analytical tools can be deployed to acquire and process public data and research data. The results of multi-objective analyses can be support the planning proces.

Local geodetic network is very important in harmonic development of city territory. On the base of the local geodetic network, cadastral and topographic surveying works, engineering geodetic works and executive measurements of newly built buildings and engineering networks are carried out. In the territory of Riga, the local geodetic network was started to create in 1880, and in the course of time, as the city expanded, necessity to have wider reference network emerged. In 2005, in the territory of Latvia, network of continuously working base stations LatPos was launched, which ensured completely new trends in execution of measurements and accuracy reached. One year later, base station network EUPOS-RIGA was launched in the territory of Riga. It can be regarded as consistent part of Riga local geodetic network. The purpose of the research was to state, what are differences between historically used coordinates of points of the local geodetic network, and coordinates that are determined by use of real time corrections of LatPos and EUPOS-RIGA base station network. Measurements were made in the territory of Riga in period from December 2016 until April 2017. In the framework of the research, 61 point of the local geodetic network was inspected and in 38 cases GNSS observations in RTK mode were completed. In the research, catalogues of coordinates of polygonometry points of sixties and eighties were used in order to compare what differences of coordinates existed historically. The main conclusion drawn during the research – historical points of the local geodetic network shall not be used for surveying works of any kind before improvement of them and before they comply with requirements of normative acts.

In order to evaluate the accuracy of the local geodetic network of Jurmala City, in research, comparison of fortyseven selected polygonometry network point coordinates with the obtained data was made by performing measurements by real time cinematic (RTK) method in LatPos base station system. Points were chosen so in order to cover evenly the entire territory of the city. At present, gradual renewal and improvement of the local geodetic network takes place in Jurmala. In Jurmala City, obtaining of data by GNNS data receivers is encumbered by large density of trees. Therefore the local geodetic network in city has very important role in order to ensure performance of geodetic measurements of high quality in the territory of the city. Aim of the research is to evaluate the accuracy of the local geodetic network of Jurmala City. The following tasks have been set for achieving the aim: research of the given problem, visit of the local geodetic network points, performing control measurements, data processing and analysis.

With growing importance of the global economy, one of the basic natural resources − intensity of land use − is also increasing, which often is the cause of land degradation processes. The causes and manifestations of brownfields are diverse, and their elimination is the first prerequisite for the sustainable use of land resources and development of each region. Improvement, maximal and efficient engagement in economic activity of brownfields is one of the key challenges for sustainable resource use that makes significant contribution to regional development. The reuse of brownfields has significant impact on sustainable development as it meets all three of its objectives: improving the economy, improving social cohesion and the environment. The aim of the article is on the basis of special literature examples to examine issues of sustainable development, evaluation and restoration of brownfields, transformation of brownfields into recreational areas, as well as further use of brownfields in cities and rural areas.

The article presents the analysis of the current situation of the forest area in Alytus and Vilnius Counties. Comparative, analytical as well as statistical and logical analysis methods were used for the investigation. The aim of the investigation is to carry out the analysis of the Alytus and Vilnius Counties forest area during the period between the years 2006 and 2018. The object of the investigation – Alytus and Vilnius Counties forest area. Tasks of the investigation: 1. To describe the status quo of forest in Alytus and Vilnius Counties. 2. To analyze and compare the forest area change in Alytus and Vilnius counties during the period between the years 2006 and 2018. The study found that forests prevailing in Alytus and Vilnius Counties are 50–59 years old. It was determined that pine trees prevail in Alytus County (71.05 percent) and in Vilnius County (16.38 percent) as well. The type of ownership prevailing in both Alytus and Vilnius counties is the forests of state significance managed by forest enterprises, national parks and state reserves. In Alytus County, during the period between the years 2006 and 2018, the forest area decreased by 4123.16 ha or 1.55 percent, in Vilnius County increased by 9593.16 ha or 2,35 percent.

The main purpose of data mining in private and public sector institutions is to process and analyse data with the aim of generating reliable information for decision-making. Decision-making performance is determined by the availability of the relevant data and the user’s ability to adapt that data for analytical purposes. The popularity of spatial statistical tools is on the rise owing to the complexity of the analysed factors, their variation over time and their correlations with the spatial structure. Popular models should be applied in demographic analyses for the needs of the spatial planning process. The availability of high-resolution data and accurate analytical tools enhances the value of spatial analyses, and the described models can be universally applied to support the decision-making process. The aim of this study was to present the applicability of selected spatial statistical models for analysing demographic data in the planning process and to identify the main advantages of these models.