The Link Between Brownfields Revelopment and Smart Growth

By Chad Farrell, Jacqueline Bell, and Collin Ackerman of Encore Redevelopment, April 2009

Redeveloping brownfields often involves renovating existing properties and buildings where infrastructure is already in place, thus reducing expenditures and conserving open space that is lost in greenfields development.  As such, brownfield redevelopment efforts are often congruent with the core principles of smart growth:  focusing growth in urban areas or village centers; preserving historic buildings; and capitalizing on the use of existing infrastructure.

However, brownfields redevelopment itself may not be enough to qualify as truly sustainable smart growth.  According to Joel B. Eisen of the University of Richmond School of Law, developers, state and local programs should be doing more.  At present, brownfields are typically being developed on a parcel-by-parcel basis without consideration of the overall cumulative impact of these properties on communities and the overarching benchmarks of sustainability.  In an article entitled “Brownfields Development: From Individual Sites to Smart Growth” in the April, 2009 edition of Environmental Law Institute’s Environmental Law Reporter (1), Eisen argues that three conditions must be satisfied for brownfield reuse programs to meet the objectives of sustainable development:

• Effective public involvement in brownfields remediation and reuse decisions: “Community involvement and consensus is one of the most important ingredients of a successful brownfield project.”(2)  Eisen notes that state voluntary cleanup programs (VCPs) rarely require this collaboration, however he reports that the savviest and most successful brownfield redevelopers seek local input and form successful partnerships with affected communities.

• Integrated decision making procedures by local communities and state VCPs: Eisen points out that successful brownfield redevelopment efforts involve “the progressive integration of social, economic, and environmental issues” in governmental decision-making.(3)

• Measurable outcomes for sustainability embodied in program designs: Eisen argues that states should assess their brownfields redevelopment programs using concrete metrics that reflect the broad scope of their redevelopment goals, which requires consideration of a number of different topics including environmental protection, contaminant removal, open space preservation, job creation and local tax base increases.

In order to meet these conditions, Eisen has proposed four recommendations:

• Increase use of area-wide brownfields initiatives: Eisen states that brownfields development agencies should be working on a broader scale to promote economic development.  As an example, area-wide brownfields initiatives have been established in New Jersey to address multiple sites simultaneously.  This integrated approach guarantees public involvement along with reducing parcel specific development, resulting in a more sustainable model of brownfields redevelopment.

• Develop measures to assess progress toward sustainability:  Eisen recommends that states develop measurement techniques focusing on two aspects of brownfields redevelopment.  First, states must determine how to quantify whether the environmental risks to public health have been eliminated or significantly reduced by site cleanup activities (and have programs in place for long-term monitoring of sites processed through their programs).  Second, and perhaps of equal importance, states must thoroughly analyze whether their brownfield programs are really fulfilling promises of increased tax revenue, economic growth, and job creation.

• Promote green building practices in site reuse: Redevelopment of contaminated real estate often involves a total renovation of existing site infrastructure and buildings, creating an opportunity to rebuild using the most modern low impact and energy efficient building techniques.  Sustainable brownfield reuse involves “[p]romot[ing] environmentally responsible reuse via green building, low impact development practices, smart growth strategies, preservation of parks and open space, transit-oriented development, and pollution prevention.”(4)  The EPA’s Green Buildings on Brownfields Initiative(5) is pointed out as a good resource and has sponsored numerous pilot programs to evaluate the benefit of “building green on brown”.

• Develop “Second Generation” policies to improve performance of state Voluntary Cleanup Programs (VCPs-)  State VCPs have made much progress in the last decade, but there is still room for improvement. Recommendations include the following:
  • Provide sufficient staff to ensure timely approvals (or allow public/private regulatory partnerships such as the programs created in Massachusetts and Connecticut).
  • Increase funding for assessment, cleanup, and predevelopment.
  • Provide better leveraging of UST funds with other brownfields initiatives to clean up petroleum contamination.
  • Allow for better integration of economic development, transportation, and housing authorities in the cleanup and redevelopment process.(6)

Brownfields redevelopment and the movements for sustainable development and smart growth all strive for the same goals of improving the environmental and economic health of communities.  However, for brownfield development to be truly sustainable, Eisen and others argue that the above recommendations must be taken into account. 

(1) Eisen, J.B., “Brownfields Development: From Individual Sites to Smart Growth”, Environmental Law Reporter, 39 ELR 10285, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, April, 2009.

(2) National Association of Local Government Professionals & Northeast – Midwest Institute, “Unlocking Brownfields: Keys to Community Revitalization ”, 2004.

(3) Eisen, J.B., “Brownfields Development”, in Stumbling Towards Sustainability, John C. Dernbach, ed. 2002.

(4) National Association of Local Government Professionals & Northeast – Midwest Institute, “Unlocking Brownfields: Keys to Community Revitalization ”, 2004.

(5) http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/html-doc/greenbld.htm

(6) National Association of Local Government Professionals & Northeast – Midwest Institute, “Unlocking Brownfields: Keys to Community Revitalization ”, 2004.