Urban Brownfield Research Articles

Brownfield Topsoil Vertical Heterogeneity: Implications for Germination and Soil Microbial Functioning.

Soil vertical heterogeneity refers to the variation in soil properties and composition with depth. In uncontaminated soils, properties including the organic matter content and nutrient concentrations typically change gradually with depth due to natural processes such as weathering, leaching, and organic matter decomposition. In contaminated soils, heavy metals and organic contaminants can migrate vertically through leaching or root uptake and translocation by plants and macrobiota, if present, leading to vertical heterogeneity in contaminant concentrations at different depths. Contaminants can alter soil properties, and we investigated the implications of soil vertical heterogeneity for germination and microbial functioning. We collected soil from an urban brownfield and created two conditions: structured soil samples collected with the soil core intact and mixed (unstructured) samples. When planted, the germination rate was significantly lower in the structured conditions (3.1 ± 1.7%) compared to mixed soils (17 ± 4.6%), suggesting that the vertical heterogeneity of contaminated soil influenced plant germination. To map the vertical distribution of contaminants and nutrient cycling rates in the structured soil samples, we collected 10 cm-deep soil cores from the barren site and a neighboring vegetated reference site and measured heavy metal concentrations, soil enzyme activities, and organic matter content in five 2 cm vertical layers. In the barren soil cores, metals were found concentrated in the top 2 cm layer, while in the vegetated soil cores, metals were uniformly distributed. No significant differences were observed for the organic matter content or moisture along depth. Published studies on vertical distribution of enzyme activities and metal concentrations have treated the top 10-20 cm as a single layer and thus would have not revealed the thin (<2 cm thick) metal cap on the surface of the barren soil core. Despite the metal cap, enzyme activities in the top layer were similar to those in the lower layers of the barren soil core, suggesting that high metal concentrations do not limit soil enzyme activity under all circumstances. Investigating vertical heterogeneity in postindustrial soils can inform efforts to convert industrial barrens to vegetated environments.

Optimal location to land banking practices in urban-rural informal land market continuum of Ghana

Land banking practices in complex informal land markets are growing in developing countries. However, the land banking (LB) literature predominantly focuses on publicly driven land banks operating within formal land markets. Against this backdrop, this study investigates optimal locations for LB projects in Ghana's complex informal land markets from the perspective of private and semi-public real estate developers. Utilising a two-stage research process, first, the study developed a conceptual framework by using: (1) suppositions regarding space under economic geography; and (2) theoretical suppositions on the use of LB and its influence on LB locational choices uncovered from an interpretive hermeneutic literature review. The second stage focused on an empirical assessment of the conceptual framework by taking four urbanised regions in Ghana. The case study stage uses primary data from 30 interviewees selected using purposive and snowball sampling, while secondary data comprised land bank inventories from the regional Lands Commissions of the case study regions. Results revealed land title security as the primary factor determining optimal locations for land banks. There are significant challenges related to land title security in urban and inner parts of peri-urban areas. These challenges are aggravating the transformation of agricultural lands into residential lands in developers' preferred land bank locations. Based on the ongoing land transformation occurrences, the study underscores the need for policy responses that enhance title security to encourage developers to diversify their land banking locational preferences beyond solely greenfield sites to a mix of green and urban brownfield sites.

Informal Urban Biodiversity in the Milan Metropolitan Area: The Role of Spontaneous Nature in the Leftover Regeneration Process

The present study reflects on spontaneous nature’s agency to reclaim abandoned urban areas in Italian urban brownfields, providing a focused analysis of the Metropolitan Area of Milan. These spaces are the products of phenomena, such as deindustrialization, demilitarization, and uncontrolled urban expansion, which have produced a compromised heritage and challenges to regeneration. Such abandonment sometimes produces new forms of urban nature, which suggests a possible path for ecological regeneration and coexistence, as affirmed by the multidisciplinary literature. The related informal urban biodiversity grows regardless of future planning provisions, triggering unexpected transformations of the urban environment and producing socio-ecological value, as demonstrated by citizens’ recognition of these places. The present study maps informal urban biodiversity in the Milan territory, identifying the presence of large contaminated sites, relevant urban voids, vacant lots, and former agricultural spaces. This study also reflects on possible paths for urban planning and policies to integrate informal urban biodiversity within the urban ecological structure by analyzing the main features and challenges of the corresponding regeneration processes.

Improving urban emergency medical service systems through brownfield transformation in Huangshi, China

A comprehensive emergency medical service (EMS) system significantly enhances a city’s capacity to prevent and mitigate disasters. Using Huangshi as a case study, this research evaluated the service radium coverage rate of the current EMS system by examining its transport capacity, population density, and prevalence rate, finding it to be only 61.49% with an inefficient spatial layout. To address this, we proposed transforming urban brownfields into EMS parks. By selecting the most suitable brownfields based on capacity and service radius, we increased the coverage rate to 90.21%. We introduced a new "consultation-referral" model, where existing EMS facilities serve as pre-diagnosis and triage centers, and the urban brownfield EMS parks function as isolation and centralized treatment centers. GIS network analysis confirmed the feasibility, showing all transit times to be under 30 min. The methodology outlined in this study—comprising "demand assessment, supply optimization, and feasibility verification"—not only strengthens the city’s EMS system but also facilitates the renewal of urban brownfields. This approach can serve as a valuable reference for enhancing EMS systems in other cities.

Regeneration of Distressed Communities in Settlements Around Brownfields: Insights from Khulna, Bangladesh

As is known, Khulna, the third largest metropolis in Bangladesh has played a pivotal role in trade and industry during the 1950s and 60s. From the late 60s, the political shifts have caused a rapid decline of the industries, worsening the socio-economic condition of the workers' community and the physical condition of the surrounding urban areas of the industrial belt. Partial closures, leasing out, laying off of the mills and finally turning into urban brownfields, have made thousands of workers jobless. Khulna Newsprint mill is such a brownfield, closed in 2002 leaving a total of 6000 workers and employees unemployed with a hope of reopening. Despite 16 years passing, they continue to hold onto this hope of relaunching the mill while living next to the mill area with multiple deprivations in socio-economic aspects. In this context, the government has introduced a new industrial policy in 2010, emphasizing investment in State Owned Enterprises only for reopening. However, without recognizing distressed vernacular communities and a concurrent regeneration plan, this strategy has proven ineffective in a developing country like Bangladesh. This research examines how distressed vernacular communities of urban brownfields can be regenerated. The objectives are to identify the socioeconomic needs of the distressed community and investigate the spatial and physical resources of the Brownfield, which can be useful for the regeneration of the distressed community. It employs qualitative case study method. Data is collected through a questionnaire survey, focus group discussion, participant observation, Key person interview, planning document study, drawing and photography analyzed through content analysis using NVivo and Spatial Mapping analysis. In conclusion, the paper formulates a framework for the regeneration of distressed vernacular communities around the urban brownfields. It also provides recommendations for specialized policy guidelines on the sustainable regeneration of such distressed communities.

Selection of soil health indicators for modelling soil functions to promote smart urban planning

The contribution of soil health to global health receives a growing interest, especially in urban environment. Therefore, there is a true need to develop methods to evaluate ecological functions provided by urban soils in order to promote smart urban planning. This work aims first at identifying relevant soil indicators based either on in situ description, in situ measurement or lab analysis. Then, 9 soil functions and sub-functions were selected to meet the main expectations regarding soil health in urban contexts. A crucial step of the present research was then to select adequate indicators for each soil function and then to create adapted reference frameworks; they were in the form of 4 classes with scores ranging from 0 to 3. All the reference frameworks were developed to evaluate soil indicators in order to score soil functions, either by using existing scientific or technical standards or references or based on the expertise of the co-authors. Our model was later tested on an original database of 109 different urban soils located in 7 cities of Western Europe and under various land uses. The scores calculated for 8 soil functions of 109 soils followed a Gaussian distribution. The scoring successfully expressed the strong contrasts between the various soils; the lowest scores were calculated for sealed soils and soils located in urban brownfields, whereas the highest were found for soils located in city parks or urban agriculture. Despite requiring a soil expertise, the proposed approach is easy to implement and could help reveal the true potential of urban soils in order to promote smart urban planning and enhance their contribution to global health.

THE MULTIPLE ENACTMENTS OF CONTAMINATION: Rethinking the Remediation and Redevelopment of Military‐Industrial Brownfields in the Tel Aviv Region

AbstractThe remediation and redevelopment of industrially contaminated land are complex challenges for urban regions worldwide. Yet the literature on urban brownfields mostly addresses this as a technical problem through dichotomic and anthropocentric terms, contrasting the passive and negative role of the contamination as a toxic entity in the ground with the active and positive roles assigned to human actors such as planners, developers and communities. This article contests this prevalent view by tracing in detail debates concerning the remediation of three highly contaminated military‐industrial brownfield sites in the Tel Aviv metropolitan region. Drawing on notions of ontological multiplicity and enactment from science and technology studies and on qualitative analysis of a vast database of planning protocols and court hearings alongside interviews with key stakeholders, we uncover how contamination is enacted in multiple ways as mobile/immobile, unified/fragmented, remediable/irremediable. Furthermore, following one of our field's inherent controversies—whether to fully map the contamination prior to planning the sites—the article highlights the attempts to regulate this multiplicity and replace it with a single coherent contamination. By acknowledging the multiple enactments of contamination, our approach offers a more nuanced understanding that could help stakeholders rethink the remediation and redevelopment of urban brownfields beyond simplistic technical solutions or neoliberal policy imperatives.

Effect of heavy metal contamination on soil nematode communities in urban brownfields

Heavy metal contamination in urban brownfields can pose serious threats to the soil ecosystem. Soil nematode communities can respond rapidly to minor alterations in the soil environment over brief time intervals and are extensively employed to track changes in the soil environment. Here, we investigated the impact of heavy metal contamination on soil nematode communities and assessed the ecological risks associated with brownfields. We analyzed heavy metal contamination and soil nematode community structure in a representative urban brownfield and its neighboring urban park. The results showed that the brownfield was predominantly impacted by chromium (Cr) contamination. Plant parasites served as the primary source for soil nematodes in the park, whereas bacterivores fulfilled this role in the brownfield. Omnivores-predators decrease or even disappear with the intensification of heavy metal contamination. Acrobeloides exhibited tolerance to heavy metal contamination. Based on life history strategy, nematode communities could be classified into five colonizer-persister (c-p) groups, and the c-p values were ranked from 1 (short generation time and high colonization ability and fecundity) to 5 (long generation time and low colonization ability and fecundity). Soil nematode communities with c-p values ranging from 1 to 3 exhibited a significant negative correlation with hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)], while those with c-p values of 4 and 5 (representing high trophic level communities) showed a significant positive correlation. We postulate that bacterivores exhibit superior adaptations to heavy metal contamination. Specific nematode taxa can indicate the pollution status of elements. Soil nematode communities at high trophic levels are powerful indicators of response to Cr (VI) contamination.

The Conservative Dimension in the Regeneration Projects of Military Urban Brownfields: The Case of the Historic City of Tlemcen

"The Regeneration of urban brownfields is currently one of the strategies for densification and urban sustainability. However, as an architectural intervention, it is not an easy task and usually leads to two opposing dilemmas; demolition and/or conservation. This difficulty was observed in the regeneration projects of the colonial military brownfields in the city of Tlemcen, where the actors involved adopted different approaches, some of which damaged the existing architectural heritage and its values. The aim of this article is therefore to analyse the transformation processes of the military brownfields studied and to assess their conservation dimension. The latter is considered to be an indicator that makes it possible, on the one hand, to detect the modality of appropriation of the colonial architectural heritage within the projects analysed and, on the other hand, to assess their sustainability from a heritage perspective. This research was therefore based on the following scientific methods: in-situ observation, historical analysis, comparative analysis and semi-structured interviews. The results obtained for the two main study cases showed that the regeneration of the Bedeau barracks has a higher conservative dimension than that of the African hunter’s barracks and can consequently be considered more sustainable in heritage terms. "

Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Brownfield Reuse Based on Sustainable Development: The Case of Beijing Shougang Park

Industrial heritage parks, an effective form of urban brownfield reuse, effectively mitigate pollution, improve the human living environment, and achieve sustainable development; industrial heritage parks, which add blue and green space to a city, also play an important role in presenting urban history and culture, promoting regional economic growth, and achieving human well-being. Exploring the user behavior use of industrial heritage parks and conducting post-occupancy evaluation of projects based on subjective human perceptions from the users’ perspective can contribute to improve the sustainable management, maintenance, and design of projects in the future. However, previous studies on post-occupancy evaluation have not been sufficiently studied for urban industrial heritage parks. This study takes Beijing Shougang Park, a representative industrial heritage park in China, as the research object, and distributes and collects nearly 150 questionnaires about user behavior and four significant evaluation items after the preliminary field research, analyzes the importance and satisfaction evaluation of the park design elements (place characteristics, natural environment characteristics, usability characteristics, and management characteristics), and uses a frequency analysis, an IPA analysis, an independent t-test, an analysis of variance, and a multiple regression analysis, and other methods are used, to quantitatively analyze the content of the questionnaire. The results of the study include the following: (1) The park is mainly used by people in their twenties to thirties and forties, and the usage rate of the sports plaza, which is the main facility, is the highest, while the usage rate of the renovation facility, the machine room, is the lowest. (2) While Shougang Park users were more satisfied with the natural environment features, Shougang Park users were found to be relatively less satisfied with the place and usability features. (3) The natural environment characteristics of Shougang Park had a positive effect on both overall satisfaction and recommendation intention. Finally, based on the questions and suggestions from users, a park renewal optimization strategy is proposed, hoping to provide suggestions for the renovation and design of similar industrial heritage parks in Chinese cities.

Heritage and the Regeneration of Urban Brownfields: Insights on Public Perception in Tehran, Iran

Brownfields particularly in old city centers reveal the story of abandonment and concealment, shaping the identity and collective memory of urban areas. Therefore, research and practice must prioritize both reutilization and heritage values. This study centers on the regeneration of historical brownfields in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and assesses public perceptions of redeveloped historical brownfields. Based on their approach to patrimony, the study categorized reclaimed brownfields as interpretive, cultural, or ecological sites. A questionnaire was administered to citizens who visited three sampled sites (n = 385) to collect data. According to the results of principal component analysis (PCA), women preferred the non-economic component, which includes environmental, social, heritage, and aesthetic dimensions, while men and older, highly educated respondents preferred the economic dimension in relation to brownfields. Despite positive attitudes towards brownfield regeneration, environmental and heritage dimensions, especially intangible heritage, are less well-known. However, heritage justifies and determines brownfield redevelopment. Increasing commitment to preserving heritage during brownfield regeneration has a positive effect on the perception of respondents.

Phytoremediation potential depends on the degree of soil pollution: a case study in an urban brownfield

Phytoremediation is a cost-effective nature-based solution for brownfield reclamation. The choice of phytoextraction or phytostabilization strategies is highly relevant when planning full-scale treatments. A suitable approach to identify such species involves the evaluation of plants that grow spontaneously on the contaminated sites. Here, we sought to determine the phytoremediation potential of three spontaneous plant species, namely the trees Acer pseudoplatanus L (A. pseudoplatanus) and Betula celtiberica Rothm. & Vasc (B. celtiberica), and the shrub Buddleja davidii Franch (B. davidii), for the recovery of an urban brownfield. To determine the response of the species to the degree of contamination, we conducted soil and vegetation sampling inside and outside the site. The concentrations of As, Cu, and Zn in soil and plant samples were measured, and then various indexes related to phytoremediation were calculated. The translocation factor and transfer coefficient indicated that vegetation outside the brownfield had phytoextraction capacity while the same plants inside the brownfield revealed phytostabilization properties. Given our results, we propose that the selected species are suitable for phytostabilization strategies in areas with high concentrations of contaminants, whereas they could be used for phytoextraction only in soils with low or moderate levels of pollution.Graphical

Beyond Cleansing: Ecosystem Services Related to Phytoremediation.

Phytotechnologies used for cleaning up urban and suburban polluted soils (i.e., brownfields) have shown some weakness in the excessive extent of the timeframe required for them to be effectively operating. This bottleneck is due to technical constraints, mainly related to both the nature of the pollutant itself (e.g., low bio-availability, high recalcitrance, etc.) and the plant (e.g., low pollution tolerance, low pollutant uptake rates, etc.). Despite the great efforts made in the last few decades to overcome these limitations, the technology is in many cases barely competitive compared with conventional remediation techniques. Here, we propose a new outlook on phytoremediation, where the main goal of decontaminating should be re-evaluated, considering additional ecosystem services (ESs) related to the establishment of a new vegetation cover on the site. The aim of this review is to raise awareness and stress the knowledge gap on the importance of ES associated with this technique, which can make phytoremediation a valuable tool to boost an actual green transition process in planning urban green spaces, thereby offering improved resilience to global climate change and a higher quality of life in cities. This review highlights that the reclamation of urban brownfields through phytoremediation may provide several regulating (i.e., urban hydrology, heat mitigation, noise reduction, biodiversity, and CO2 sequestration), provisional (i.e., bioenergy and added-value chemicals), and cultural (i.e., aesthetic, social cohesion, and health) ESs. Although future research should specifically be addressed to better support these findings, acknowledging ES is crucial for an exhaustive evaluation of phytoremediation as a sustainable and resilient technology.

Transforming brownfields into urban greenspaces: A working process for stakeholder analysis.

Urban greenspaces (UGS) provide a range of ecosystem services and are instrumental in ensuring the liveability of cities. Whilst incorporating UGS in increasingly denser cities is a challenge to planners, brownfields form a latent resource with the potential of being converted into UGS. Transformation of brownfields to greenspaces, however, requires engagement of a variety of stakeholders, from providers to users. The overall aim of this study was to support effective and realistic realisations of UGS in the context of urban brownfields' regeneration and stakeholder engagement. A working process was developed to: 1) integrate methods relevant for UGS realisation for a) identification and categorising of relevant stakeholders, b) mapping their interests and resources, c) identifying various challenges, and d) matching those challenges with the mapped resources over the timeline of UGS development; and 2) apply these methods to assess relevance and shortcomings. The methods were applied to a study site in Sweden, and data was collected using a questionnaire survey. The survey received 31 responses and the respondents' comments indicated that the combination of several uses, especially integrated with an urban park, is preferable. Visualisation was an important component for data analysis: stakeholder categorisation was effectively visualised using a Venn diagram, and the needed mobilisation of resources among stakeholders to manage identified challenges was visualised using a timeline. The analysis demonstrates the need for collaboration between stakeholders to achieve an effective realisation of UGS and how multiple methods can be used in concert to map stakeholders, preferences, challenges, and resources for a particular site. The application at a study site provided site-specific data but the developed stakeholder categorisation, and the method for matching identified challenges with the stakeholders' resources using a timeline, can be generalised to applications at other sites.

Soil Microbial Community Composition and Tolerance to Contaminants in an Urban Brownfield Site

Brownfields are unused sites that contain hazardous substances due to previous commercial or industrial use. The sites are inhospitable for many organisms, but some fungi and microbes can tolerate and thrive in the nutrient-depleted and contaminated soils. However, few studies have characterized the impacts of long-term contamination on soil microbiome composition and diversity at brownfields. This study focuses on an urban brownfield—a former rail yard in Los Angeles that is contaminated with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and petroleum-derived pollutants. We anticipate that heavy metals and organic pollutants will shape soil microbiome diversity and that several candidate fungi and bacteria will be tolerant to the contaminants. We sequence three gene markers (16S ribosomal RNA, 18S ribosomal RNA, and the fungal internal transcribed spacer (FITS)) in 55 soil samples collected at five depths to (1) profile the composition of the soil microbiome across depths; (2) determine the extent to which hazardous chemicals predict microbiome variation; and (3) identify microbial taxonomic groups that may metabolize these contaminants. Detected contaminants in the samples included heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds. Bacterial, eukaryotic, and fungal communities all varied with depth and with concentrations of arsenic, chromium, cobalt, and lead. 18S rRNA microbiome richness and fungal richness were positively correlated with lead and cobalt levels, respectively. Furthermore, bacterial Paenibacillus and Iamia, eukaryotic Actinochloris, and fungal Alternaria were enriched in contaminated soils compared to uncontaminated soils and represent taxa of interest for future bioremediation research. Based on our results, we recommend incorporating DNA-based multi-marker microbial community profiling at multiple sites and depths in brownfield site assessment standard methods and restoration.

Redevelopment of urban brownfield sites in China: Motivation, history, policies and improved management

Rapid urbanisation in China has resulted in an increased demand for land in towns and cities. To upgrade and modernise, China has also moved many major industries from urban centres to less populated areas. With the high economic value of urban land, the transformation and utilisation of brownfield areas have become important economically and socially. The Chinese government has recognised the need for strong frameworks to safeguard soil and groundwater quality, with brownfield sites a key category for management. Strong scientific, regulatory and decision-making frameworks are needed and being adopted to ensure practical, careful and wise use of central and localised government resources, to manage the reuse and regeneration of these brownfield sites. This paper reviews the context, policies and management procedures of developing brownfield sites in countries with a history of brownfield management and discusses China’s current situation and priorities for brownfield governance and redevelopment. These include (1) clarification of brownfield site soil contamination risk control standards and risk assessment procedures, (2) the responsibilities of different national and local agencies, (3) the establishment of a national expert committee to advise on best practices, policy and process, (4) the use of registered brownfield databases at national, provincial, municipal and county levels, and (5) the set up of soil pollution prevention fund at the provincial level.

Revitalization of brownfields in shrinking cites exemplified by the urban farm in Dessau a Green Innovation area as a part of the BMBF project GIAGEM

This bachelor thesis is about the revitalization of urban brownfields in shrinking cities. The project "Urban Farm Dessau" is used throughout the thesis as an example. Different social processes, such as structural change and demographic change, lead to changed conditions in cities. One consequence of this is that shrinking processes are continuing and this leads to the creation of brownfields, which are often not used again. This process of urban sprawl often results in the decline of districts or entire cities. In the project GIAGEM "The Role of Green Innovation Areas in Revitalizing German and Mexican Cities" of the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and the University of Guadalajara, alternative solutions for the revitalization of such brownfields are being developed, which at the same time meet bio-economic requirements. Various sustainable and efficient uses are analysed and evaluated on the basis of example projects and their transferability to other cities is specified. First of all, the scientific framework conditions are elaborated in this thesis. For this purpose, the key words "Brownfields", "Revitalization" and "Urban Farming" will be defined and classified. The project GIAGEM will be presented in more detail in order to establish the connection to the chosen example project "Urban Farm Dessau". The project "Urban Farm Dessau", which was developed in the city of Dessau-Roßlau, in the district Am Leipziger Tor in Sachsen-Anhalt, will be analysed in more detail by means of a preliminary study and with the help of an area reference. The project is finally evaluated by means of a criteria grid. The results of the evaluation form the basis for recommendations for action, which represent a possibility of transferability of this project to other cities and locations. Finally, a conclusion about the project is given, summarizing the knowledge gained from the analysed chapters and evaluating whether the Urban Farm is a suitable form of sustainable brownfield revitalization and an innovative approach for sustainable urban development.

Ecological remediation strategy for urban brownfield renewal in Sichuan Province, China: a health risk evaluation perspective

Urban brownfield sites are abandoned industrial land and their redevelopment may be affected by environmental pollution, as the latter may pose health risks for residents. In this study, six heavy metals (Pb, As, Cr, Zn, Ni, and Cu) were examined from 87 soil samples extracted from four land use types (industrial area, residential/commercial area, traffic area, and agricultural area) in the Mianyang thermal power plant area, Sichuan Province, China. The soil contamination and environmental risk were evaluated using the single factor index, geo-accumulation index and Human Health Risk Evaluation. ArcGIS was used to map out the spatial distribution of heavy metal concentrations and environmental risk. The results of these analyses have indicated that different land use types have significant effects on the heavy metal contamination of soil. There are 10 non-carcinogenic risk areas of heavy metals in industrial land, while in the other three types there are 9 non-carcinogenic risk areas of heavy metals. Under the brownfield renewal planning, the present study scheme provides an effective method of discernment for ecological remediation of soil heavy metals. In addition, it can aid brownfield in finding different remediation strategies with economic benefits for different risk levels of human health.

Urban Forests and Green Areas as Nature-Based Solutions for Brownfield Redevelopment: A Case Study from Brescia Municipal Area (Italy)

Urban areas are experiencing major changes and facing significant sustainability challenges. Many cities are undergoing a transition towards a post-industrial phase and need to consider the regeneration of brownfield sites. Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) are increasingly considered as tools for supporting this transition and promoting sustainable development by delivering multiple ecosystem services (ESs). Although the potential of NBSs as a cost-effective enabler of urban sustainability has been recognized, their implementation faces numerous barriers. The effective assessment of benefits delivered by urban NBSs is considered by existing literature as one of them. In order to contribute to filling this knowledge gap, we analyzed two alternative NBS-based intervention scenarios—i.e., (1) an urban forest and (2) meadows with sparse trees—for the redevelopment of an urban brownfield area within the municipality of Brescia (Northern Italy). Nine ESs were assessed both in biophysical and economic terms via a combination of modeling (InVEST, i-Tree and ESTIMAP) and traditional estimation methods. The results show that both scenarios improve ES stock and flow compared to the baseline, ensuring annual flows ranging between 140,000 and 360,000 EUR/year. Scenario 1 shows higher values when single ESs are considered, while scenario 2 shows higher total values, as it also accounts for the phytoremediation capacity that is not considered under the first scenario. All in all, regulating ESs represent the bulk of estimated ESs, thus highlighting the potential of proposed NBSs for improving urban resilience. The ES assessment and valuation exercise presented within this paper is an example of how research and practice can be integrated to inform urban management activities, and provide inputs for future decision making and planning regarding urban developments.

Mycorrhizal Infection Can Ameliorate Abiotic Factors in Urban Soils.

Once abandoned, urban and post-industrial lands can undergo a re-greening, the natural regeneration and succession that leads to surprisingly healthy plant communities, but this process is dependent upon microbial activity and the health of the parent soil. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in facilitating plant production in post-industrial soils. In so doing, we helped to resolve the mechanism through which AMF ameliorate environmental stress in terrestrial plants. An experiment was established in which rye grass (Lolium perenne) was grown in two heavy metal-contaminated soils from an urban brownfield in New Jersey, USA, and one non-contaminated control soil. One set of the treatments received an AMF inoculum (four species in a commercial mix: Glomus intraradices, G. mosseae, G. etunicatum and G. aggregatum) and the other did not. Upon harvest, dried plant biomass, root/shoot ratio, AMF colonization, and extracellular soil phosphatase activity, a proxy for soil microbial functioning, were all measured. Plant biomass increased across all treatments inoculated with AMF, with a significantly higher average shoot and root mass compared to non-inoculated treatments. AMF colonization of the roots in contaminated soil was significantly higher than colonization in control soil, and the root/shoot ratio of plants in contaminated soils was also higher when colonized by AMF. Mycorrhizal infection may help plants to overcome the production limits of post-industrial soils as is seen here with increased infection and growth. The application of this mechanistic understanding to remediation and restoration strategies will improve soil health and plant production in urban environments.