Brownfield Projects Research Articles

Sustainable Brownfield Regeneration: Liveable Places from Problem Spaces

Notes on the Contributors . Acknowledgements . PART 1 INTRODUCTION . 1 Introduction . Tim Dixon and Mike Raco . 1.1 Background. 1.2 Aims and objectives. 1.3 Structure of the book. 2 Researching Sustainability: The Possibilities and Limitations of Cross-cutting Research in the Urban . Environment . Mike Raco and Tim Dixon . 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Intellectual disciplines, interdisciplinarity and the construction of knowledge. 2.3 The rise and rise of the sustainability agenda. 2.4 The EPSRC's Sustainable Urban Environments programme and the emergence of the SUBR:IM. consortium. 2.5 Conclusions: SUBR:IM and new ways of working. PART 2 REGENERATION . 3 Democracy, Trust and Risk Related to Contaminated . Sites in the UK . Philip Catney, Dick Eiser, John Henneberry and . Tom Stafford . 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Contaminated land in the UK: context and policy. 3.3 Democracy, trust and risk in environmental governance. 3.4 Case studies. 3.5 Conclusion. 4 Actor Networks: The Brownfield Merry-Go-Round . Joe Doak and Nikos Karadimitriou . 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Actors and their roles. 4.3 Networks and their construction. 4.4 Network processes in brownfield regeneration. 4.5 Conclusion. 5 Heroes or Villains? The Role of the UK Property Development Industry in Sustainable Urban Brownfield Regeneration . Tim Dixon . 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 The nature and challenge of brownfield development. 5.3 The role of the UK property development industry in brownfield regeneration. 5.4 Survey and interview findings. 5.5 Learning from practice: Thames Gateway and Greater Manchester. 5.6 Towards best practice?. 5.7 A checklist for developers. 5.8 Conclusions. Acknowledgements. 5A.1 Appendix 1 National developer interviewees and questionnaire sample. 5A.2 Appendix 2 Details of case study interviews. 6 Delivering Brownfield Regeneration: Sustainable Community-Building in London and Manchester . Mike Raco, Steven Henderson and Sophie Bowlby . 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Building for the future: visions, practices and the delivery of sustainable urban regeneration sustainability and the politics of space-time. 6.3 Flagship urban brownfield regeneration in the UK: the redevelopment of Salford Quays and. Paddington Basin. 6.4 Conclusions: lessons for urban development policy. PART 3 REMEDIATION . 7 Greening Brownfield Land . Andy Moffat and Tony Hutchings . 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Background and context. 7.3 A sustainable process for greenspace. 7.4 Contamination. 7.5 Sustainable greenspace. 7.6 The future of greenspace on brownfield land. 7.7 Conclusions. 8 Novel Special-purpose Composts for Sustainable Remediation . Sabeha Ouki, Rene van Herwijnen, Michael Harbottle, . Tony Hutchings, Abir Al-Tabbaa, Mike Johns and . Andy Moffat . 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 Materials characterisation. 8.3 Experimental design. 8.4 Heavy metals containment in soils. 8.5 Biomass. 8.6 Enhanced compost. 8.7 Magnetic resonance imaging. 8.8 Conclusions. 9 Robust Sustainable Technical Solutions . Abir Al-Tabbaa, Michael Harbottle and Chris Evans . 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 Sustainability assessment of currently available remediation technologies in the UK. 9.3 Sustainability improvements to remediation techniques. 9.4 Concluding remarks. 10 'The Creature Lurks Within?' Restoring Acid Tar Lagoons . Simon Talbot, Nigel Lawson and Colin Smith . 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 Acid tar lagoons: a technical introduction. 10.3 Regulating risk on an acid tar lagoon. 10.4 Lesson-drawing from Germany: an appraisal of the state of the art in remediation. 10.5 Conclusions. PART 4 JOINED-UP SOLUTIONS . 11 Climate Change, Pollutant Linkage and Brownfield Regeneration . Abir Al-Tabbaa, Sinead Smith, Cecile De Munck, . Tim Dixon, Joe Doak, Stephen Garvin and Mike Raco . 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 Evidence of impacts of climate change on contaminated land systems. 11.3 Modelling potential impacts of climate change and the creation of green space on contaminated land. 11.4 Climate change mitigation and adaptation. 11.5 Technical adaptation and risk management strategies. 11.6 Stakeholder adaptation key issues and findings. 11.7 Concluding remarks. Acknowledgements. 12 Evaluating the Sustainability of Brownfield Redevelopment Projects . Kalliope Pediaditi, Walter Wehrmeyer and Kate Burningham . 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 Sustainability evaluation in brownfield projects. 12.3 The Redevelopment Assessment Framework. 12.4 Conclusion. 12A.1 Appendix. 13 Is Brown the New Green? . Philip Catney, David N. Lerner, Tim Dixon and Mike Raco . 13.1 Introduction. 13.2 Sustainable brownfield regeneration. 13.3 Sustainability in action. 13.4 Constructing cross-disciplinary research: lessons from the SUBR:IM experience. 13.5 Summary. Index

Sustainable development and brownfield regeneration. What defines the quality of derelict land recycling?

Brownfield regeneration, involving the reintegration of derelict and abandoned sites into their economic environments, is a key element of sustainable urban development. To realize the full potential brownfield regeneration offers to sustainable urban development, the parameters that influence the degree of sustainability within brownfield regeneration itself have to be understood. An analysis of eight sites in four European countries identified strengths and weaknesses in current brownfield regeneration practice. Among other outcomes, criteria for sustainable brownfield projects and the “Sustainability Assessment Tool for brownfield regeneration projects” (SAT) were developed. The tool is based on a framework of objectives, indicators and best practices that reflect the multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder complexity that characterizes brownfield regeneration. The SAT would be one option to implement sustainability criteria without waiving the local and regional context. The SAT offers one way for brownfield projects being put forward for public and specifically European Union, funding to be evaluated. This would be a remarkable innovation, leading to not only more efficient use of public money but also an increase in quality of brownfield regeneration.

Sustainability evaluation for brownfield redevelopment

Redevelopment of brownfield land has been identified as an essential component to the achievement of sustainable urban regeneration. However, in some cases, brownfield redevelopment has been characterised by a lack of long-term consideration of impacts, as well as the failure to holistically examine the environmental, economic and social issues, which form the basis of sustainability. It is therefore important to develop and implement a new approach that can be used to address and monitorcc sustainability throughout the life cycle of land-use, thus addressing the intergenerational principle of sustainable development. This paper describes a new Redevelopment Assessment Framework that will enable the use of sustainability indicators to monitor holistically the long-term sustainability of brownfield redevelopments. The framework's key characteristics are that it is dynamic in nature, allowing for sustainability monitoring through the land-use life cycle of a brownfield project, as well as being participatory and transparent as a process. The framework incorporates consideration of the risk perception and risk communication issues that are typical of brownfield projects. By design, the new framework is aimed at developing site-specific indicators within the overall context of the existing monitoring and planning processes that brownfield redevelopment projects are required to undergo.

Commentary: The Building Decommissioning Assessment: A New Six-Step Process to Manage Redevelopment of Brownfields with Major Structures

Risk is generally defined as the probability of the occurrence of an event multiplied by the consequences, should the event occur. On brownfield projects, key risk areas include retroactive cleanup liability, regulatory compliance and permit approvals, and lender concerns about return on investment. These risks can generally be classified as inevitable, unlikely, or minimized/avoidable if managed properly. Contamination of environmental media such as soil, groundwater and surface water, and sediment has traditionally been the focus of environmental assessments of properties being considered for redevelopment. Significant costs and liabilities may also be associated with contaminated structures, hazardous building materials, residual wastes within the building system, and physical assets such as production equipment that is not part of the building system. Over the years, processes to assess and clean up contamination of environmental media have been developed. The American Society for Testing and Material...

Container Terminals in the Mediterranean Region

Globalisation of the world economy is the driving force behind the ever-growing flow of containers. The rapid growth of container traffic requires, amongst other things, additional terminal capacity. In this paper the issue is dealt with from a terminal operator's (i.e. PSA Europe) point of view. Since the late 80s/early 90s stevedoring companies have started to invest in other terminals in order to establish a global network. Looking for new investment opportunities various terminal operators focus on the Mediterranean region. Here, a distinction between two types of ports can be made; on the one hand existing ports (e.g. Barcelona, Genoa) that serve a particular hinterland, on the other hand major sea-sea transhipment hubs (e.g. Algeciras, Gioia Tauro) that have emerged lately. The latter category needs the special attention of an independent stevedoring company because shipping lines can easily move their sea-sea transhipment to other ports. After analysing the individual ports in detail, a score card has been used for project appraisal. By studying literature and consulting industry experts a limited set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) was identified. Subsequently, a qualitative score for each KPI was assigned to the port under consideration. In this way the most promising business prospects become visible at a glance. Different investment strategies can be pursued: brownfield projects i.e. mergers and takeovers, and greenfield projects i.e. building new terminals. However, before the actual investment decision is taken, further research should be carried out.

Towards a Legal Framework in the EU for Brownfield Redevelopment

Summary: Brownfield sites are a major soil-related problem in every industrialised nation. Within the European Union more and more Member States are searching for different measures to deal with soil remediation in general, and with brownfields in particular. Soil remediation will demand tremendous investments. It remains unclear how these costs will be distributed among public authorities and the business community. Several governments, together with their administrations, have already taken different initiatives. Nevertheless, the shortage of knowledge and information regarding brownfield development still creates a lot of difficulties with the start up and realisation of potential brownfield projects in the EU. This article offers a comparative survey of different legal approaches within the EU and in the United States to deal with brownfields. Starting with the US legal framework; then pointing to relevant European legislation and recent actions taken by the European Commission; finally, the article describes interesting developments within several Member States with regard to soil remediation and, more specifically, brownfield redevelopment.

Brownfield Redevelopment versus Greenfield Development: A Private Sector Perspective on the Costs and Risks Associated with Brownfield Redevelopment in the Greater Toronto Area

This paper examines the nature of the economic costs and risks involved in brownfield versus greenfield redevelopment in the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada) from a private sector perspective, and assesses the potential effectiveness of different policies and programmes designed to attenuate associated costs and risks. Through interviews, case-studies and an analysis of hypothetical development scenarios, it has been found that the perception that brownfield redevelopment is less cost-effective and entails greater risks than greenfield development, on the part of the private sector, is true for industrial projects in the province, but not for residential ones, which were found to be feasible, given the assumptions of the present study. Furthermore, the study has found that the attractiveness of residential brownfield projects can increase considerably with minor policy changes, but that promoting industrial redevelopment will require a more vigorous approach that employs a variety of environmental policy and economic development measures.

Project scale and private sector environmental decision making: Factors affecting investments in small- and large-scale brownfield projects

The past decade has seen substantial policy effort directed at promoting the reclamation and reuse of urban brownfields or potentially contaminated properties. This paper is based on interviews with developers and lenders involved in redevelopment efforts. Findings indicate that effective policies and programs need to be framed within an understanding of the different needs of smaller and larger redevelopments. While market forces were equally significant inducements for both types of projects, important needs of small developers were not met. Overall, they were less likely to receive government subsidies, had greater difficulty accessing private capital, and lacked information about processes associated with remediation. Developers of large projects were more likely to benefit from public financing and were able to mobilize a network of supportive organizations to help them manage barriers to project completion. Additional findings suggest problems with legal mechanisms intended to promote brownfields cleanup in the course of redevelopment. While lender financing and public involvement of large projects encouraged environmentally responsible behaviors, self-financing of small redevelopments permitted some developers to skirt environmental requirements and avoid cleanup altogether. The paper ends with a discussion of the value of placing greater public emphasis on small projects and offers suggestions for policies to address their needs.

EPA Watch: New brownfield projects announced

EPA Watch: New brownfield projects announced