Sustainable development is socioeconomic growth that integrates political, economic, and social measures alongside environmental protection to meet the needs of communities and citizens without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The sustainable development concept was initially based on three main pillars: environment, economy, and society. In successive years, this concept has been expanded to include new pillars. The awareness of these changes has influenced our research interests. The main research objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of geographic information system (GIS) tools (data, tools, and multidimensional analyses) to the implementation of sustainable development principles in rural areas. The study covered rural and nonurbanized areas in Poland, especially farmland, forests, fisheries, and farms. The study presents the results of our research into environmental, economic, and social determinants of growth in the spatial dimension. GIS tools continue to evolve, which improves access to information and increases database managers’ awareness that highly accurate data are needed for spatial analyses. GIS systems allow us to formulate, in a structured and formal way, models that reflect both the current state and forecast changes that will occur in space. It is a very useful tool in the sustainable development of rural areas.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas žemės reformos laikotarpiu susikūrusių ūkių naudojamos žemės laukų išsidėstymo racionalumas. Pagrindinis tyrimų tikslas – išanalizuoti stambiųjų ūkių žemės valdų išsidėstymą ir nustatyti jų optimizavimo galimybes. Tyrimams pasirinktuose Jonavos rajono savivaldybės ūkiuose nustatyta, kad vidutinis atskirai dirbamo lauko plotas 14,9 ha, vidutinis atstumas iš ūkinės sodybos į laukus – 4,35 km, žemės valdos sąskaidos koeficiento K₂ reikšmės – nuo 2,64 iki 8,81 (vidutiniškai 3,62). Siekiant padidinti ūkių žemės valdų kompaktiškumą, siūloma rengti žemėtvarkos schemas, kuriose būtų projektuojamos žemės valdų perspektyvinės ribos, ir įstatymu įteisinti ūkio savininkui pirmumo teise įsigyti nuosavybėn šiose ribose esančius parduodamos žemės sklypus. Straipsnyje pateikiami ūkių žemės valdų ribų pertvarkymo pavyzdžiai ir skaičiavimai, pagrindžiantys galimą ūkių gamybos išlaidų ekonomiją sumažinus vidutinius atstumus į laukus. Parengtos metodinės rekomendacijos ūkių žemės valdų perspektyvinių ribų projektavimui šiems tikslams rengiamose žemėtvarkos schemose.

After the collapse of Soviet system, immediately after declaration of independence, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania decided to initiate land reform within the framework of agrarian reform. The defined general objectives of land reform were: to establish a fairer system of property and use rights, to create conditions for intensity and productivity increasing of land use, to strengthen the rights of lessors and tenants, to grant land to those who wish to cultivate or otherwise use the land. However, the legislation and administrative systems of separate Baltic States were different, so the objectives and tasks of land reform, as well as the measures and methods for implementing the land reform, were different. The aim of the article is to compare and evaluate the land ownership reform processes in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to analyse their legal security, the objectives, tasks, process and procedures of the reform, as well as the results obtained. In order to find out the situation and to make comparative judgments and conclusions, in research mainly document analysis and monographic or descriptive method haves been used. The positive role of land reform in all Baltic States is the restoration of land ownership, which has led to more targeted and intensive use of land in agriculture and other sectors. Land reform has created the preconditions for initiative and action of landowners in market economy. An additional effect is the development and implementation of state-of-the-art real estate registration systems in administration of each state. The article also analyses the shortcomings and problems encountered during the reform.

The article analyzes private land sales in administrative territories of Lithuania during the period of 2015-2016. The aim of the research is to determine the intensity of land sales and the reasons affecting land market prices that are not the same in the individual municipalities. The regression analysis has shown that the size of towns located in the municipality, and the portion of land owned by legal persons in the entire private agricultural land area affect the agricultural land market activity, whereas the market price is affected by the land economic value, land use intensity and size of towns located in the municipality. The size of towns located in the municipality and housing indicators of population affect market activity of land plots purchased for housing. Land prices of household plots in towns are influenced by the size of the town, distance from a regional center and population stability.