The URBIS project aims to develop, implement and validate in real environment innovative information services related to urban vacant land, based on open geospatial data, to support planning of European Large Urban Zone's (LUZs) in a sustainable way.It is meant to support European spatial urban planning in general and land use planners and land (re-)development agencies in particular and will answer the needs of strategic and operational users in this field (regional & local authorities, urban development agencies, national & EC level institutions)Vacant urban land can present very different characteristics depending on the level of development and previous use of the land. As a result, depending on their size, location and previous use, they could be redeveloped with minimum inputs (e.g. development of a green park from fallow land with no previous use) or will require substantial remediation work (development of a housing estate on potentially contaminated land). The lack of knowledge about site condition and characteristics often hampers their redevelopment. Although information exists locally, it is often patchy, incomplete and spread over different organisations. Moreover, there is a lack of consistent information at European level making it difficult to exchange and compare data. Nevertheless, conditions exist for the development and implementation of a methodology to set up European information services on vacant land with the development of GMES LMCS. In particular, the so called Fast Track Services (FTS) on Land Monitoring are currently being developed to include new more detailed layers of information focused on urban and forest areas which will be essential for the development of an information service aimed at identifying and characterising vacant and derelict urban sites. The development of such an information service could play a major role in the promotion of recycling existing urban sites thus contributing to the reduction of urban sprawl.