Statistics Norway is now developing methods based on the use of administrative registers for in a simple and cost-efficient way, to produce urban settlement boundaries and land use statistics for urban settlements. The objective is to monitor urban settlement growth and the land use changes in urban settlements and in peri-urban areas. In addition to several ongoing projects concerning physical land use, a first attempt to link economic and demographic parameters to the land use statistics is done in order to better understand the actual land use changes and the driving forces behind. The objective of a pilot project conducted 1999 was to yield practical experience with localisation of centre areas in urban settlements, and to p