Lands of industrial regions are often subjected to long-term contamination with heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc, lead, copper etc. Heavy metals circulate mostly due to water flows, and in the areas with humid (micro) climate, the heavy metal pollution propagates from sources with increased intensity because of acidic environment and soil water logging. We established that natural or artificial drainage effectively increases the washout of heavy metal pollutants due to subsurface and groundwater flows.

One of the tools for management of balanced development of rural areas is spatial planning – a kind of activity regarding to organization of use and protection of land at the national, regional and local level. The issues of conservation and restoration of natural resources in rural areas are extremely relevant for Ukraine. Main environmental problems in rural areas are: degradation of agricultural land, loss of biodiversity and pollution of land, overground and underground water. In recent years a new environmental problem has emerged − desertification.

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.

One of the primary measures of the land reform is to create the national land registry and related land information database, which can be formed only through a complete inventory of land. This article analyses land inventory data in the current stage of land cadastre functioning and development of land relations, as well as discusses justification of organizational and legislative preconditions for land inventory in Ukraine.

The global economic growth results in the increase of intensity of land use, which is one of the main natural resources. The degradation processes of land and soil occur as a result of economic activities and natural conditions creating degraded territories. Restoration of degraded territories and degradation risk prevention is an important task of each local government for sustainable development of a territory. It is determined by international and national legislation.

The aim of this paper is to research the process of compulsory acquisition of land and its fixtures in the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project in Albania from the perspective of the affected persons. The legislation of Albania as well as international principles concerning compulsory acquisition of property was analysed. Examined also was the process of how legal and institutional framework is applied in determining adequate compensation to landowners who are mostly small rural farmers.

Utilised agricultural area is one of the most important natural resources in Latvia, which provides population with food and promotes the operation of agricultural companies. Unfortunately, appropriate land management is a problem for the majority of agricultural land owners, thereby adversely affecting the efficiency of resource use and increasing possibilities for the resource depletion. Constantly new solutions are searched for in Latvia to avert inefficient use of utilised agricultural areas and reduction of land as resource.

The topic about shared real estate and ownership of landed property has become important only in the latest years. In connection with the rise of estate tax, the land’s cadastre value and the lease of land, the contradictions have also become more aggravated in shared real estate’s situations, which had occurred at some point when land reforms and privatization took place.

Business activities conducted in rural areas are associated with crop cultivation, animal rearing and agricultural produce processing. The countryside residents, after hard work, should be offered a chance of having pleasant leisure time activities. In general, the ambient conditions in rural areas provide many opportunities, but the surroundings should be adapted as to allow the pursuit of various forms of recreation.