Despite decreasing population in an increasing number of German urban agglomerations, urban expansion and land development pressure is still the main driver behind massive land consumption. This negatively affects natural resources and fosters the loss of ecosystem services in the surrounding suburban areas. Since the high annual land consumption rates have not yet abated, the German Federal government established a quantitative benchmark which aims to reduce land consumption from 113 hectares (280 acres) per day in 2008 to 30 hectares (75 acres) per day in 2020 (http://www.nachhaltigkeitsrat.de). In order to realize this significant step, stakeholders need to focus on more compact settlement development and to use infill strategies. Options include both brownfield development and densification strategies. Despite obvious positive effects of reduced land consumption and protection of natural resources in suburban areas, the specific socio-environmental impacts of infill development remain unclear, especially with regard to residents´ quality of life (QoL) and the provision of urban ecosystem services (UES) including the provision of local climate regulation, recreation or aesthetic features. This study introduces an innovative methodical design for a multicriteria assessment (MCA) of the socio-environmental impacts of new infill development compared to suburban – especially greenfield – development. The multicriteria assessment focuses on the provisioning benefits of urban green space for urban residents. So doing, it bridges the gap between the two concepts of quality of life and urban ecosystems services. The study presents an integrative multicriteria assessment scheme which can be applied by both urban planners and scientists. We show that infill development does not equal a decrease in the environmental conditions in cities.