Cleaning Up the Mess: Redevelopment of Urban Brownfields

Abstract

This article explores the impact of a brownfield redevelopment initiative in the state of Michigan. Although such programs are often perceived as having a positive impact, there is remarkably little evidence beyond anecdotal examples to support such claims. The reported analysis is based on a 5-year project to create a database capable of assessing the impact of the Michigan program. Findings indicate that a viable market for brownfield redevelopment has been created since the change in Michigan brownfield law. On average, brownfield sites have shown a decline in quality over time; however, many sites demonstrated significant improvement.

Air Pollution Around Schools Is Linked To Poorer Student Health And Academic Performance

“…The standards for cleaning brownfields up are not necessarily high enough; Michigan lowered its standards in 2000, for example. 36 Thus, state environmental agencies should develop stringent standards for cleaning up brownfields intended as school sites.…”

Urban Brownfields in Estonia: Scope, Consequences and Redevelopment Barriers as Perceived by Local Governments/ Urbánní brownfieldy v Estonsku: rozsah, dopady a revitalizační bariéry z pohledu městských samospráv

“…While in most of the EU member countries the concept of brownfields as previously-developed land is prevalent (Oliver et al, 2006;ODPM, 2005), both in North America and Australia definitions continue to refer to both known and potentiallycontaminated sites (Adams, De Sousa and Tiesdell, 2010). Even in these countries, the focus is shifting from mostly 'contaminated areas' towards 'previously developed land' (Hula and Bromley-Trujillo, 2010;Susilawati and Thomas, 2012). Initially, the term brownfield was associated primarily with urban regeneration, which later began to cover rural areas, too (Frantál et al, 2013).…”

The Dynamics of Brownfield Redevelopment

“…The State of Michigan has led an aggressive environmental cleanup effort since the 1970s, spending more than $830 million to clean up contaminated brownfield sites [42]. Since 1995, numerous and extensive state policies have attempted to address many of the criticisms of federal brownfield redevelopment legislation.…”

“…Since 1995, numerous and extensive state policies have attempted to address many of the criticisms of federal brownfield redevelopment legislation. Several groups have argued that Michigan's redevelopment efforts and policies have established the state as a model for the country [11,43], and have created a viable real estate market for brownfield land [42]. Much of this redevelopment effort has occurred through a combination of brownfield tax credits, tax increment financing, site assessment services, and redevelopment grants and loans [11,43].…”