The Role of Ecological Wisdom in Brownfields Redevelopment in China

Abstract

Brownfields are challenging and common landscape problem especially in industrial and post-industrial cities in many countries. With accelerated population rate and rapid urbanization, many Chinese cities are developing brownfield sites. Such sites inhibit economic growth and use of urban land, and thus, their redevelopment is highly warranted. It has become an important problem that restricts the sustainable development of cities in China. Certainly, brownfield redevelopment is a new term in China and is more challenging compared to other countries worldwide. To address this issue, it is important to coordinate and unify ecological wisdom from other countries where brownfield redevelopment is studied well and applying those technologies to strengthen the current apprehension of brownfield redevelopment. Ecological wisdom aims to increase the awareness of ecological knowledge during brownfield redevelopment to achieve sustainability during this process. This chapter mainly focuses on the concept of brownfield and the causes and formation of brownfield in China, introduces the concept of ecological wisdom to take guidance from brownfield researches in foreign countries, and puts forward for brownfield redevelopment and remediation in China.