Brownfields and Sustainable Development: Building a Clean Future

Sustainability indicators

Sustainability indicators can be utilized to examine community well-being within an integrated environmental, economic, and social framework. Sustainability indicators include costs and benefits of (re)development that are not included in the traditional decision-making process and can help to define community (re)development goals. These indicators often lead to the realization that sustainable development requires utilizing communities' assets more efficiently rather than simply trying to grow out of their problems.

Related links:
Sustainable Measures
EPA Green Communities
The Rocky Mountain Institute

Land use planning

Community development goals derived from the above process can be utilized as a framework to develop an overall land use plan that includes, but is not limited to, the targeted brownfield(s). Effective land use planning should shift the current development patterns of haphazard, inefficient, automobile-centered sprawl to higher-density, mixed-use development that creates and maintains efficient infrastructure, ensures close-knit neighborhoods and a sense of community, and minimizes both direct and indirect impacts on the environment.

(This excerpt adapted from the U.S. Department of Energy site listed below.)

Related links:
U.S. DOE Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development
Smart Growth Network
Antidotes to Sprawl (Region 5)

Reuse and/or recycling of existing buildings, infrastructure, and on-site materials

Adaptive reuse of existing buildings, deconstruction, and reuse or recycling of on-site materials can not only divert materials from landfills, reduce pollution associated with the manufacturing and use of new materials, and capture the embedded value of used materials, but can create revenue and more jobs than utilizing traditional materials and methods (i.e. demolition).

Related links:
Smart Growth Network
EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

Open space preservation, habitat restoration, and recreation

Creating open space, restoring natural habitat, or developing recreational areas can be a cost-effective way to reuse brownfields. Such reuses can be done in conjunction with or in place of other site uses or they can also be utilized as interim site uses if current conditions are not conducive to other forms of redevelopment. These reuses can help to mitigate adverse environmental impacts of development, such as the urban heat-island effect, stormwater runoff, habitat loss and fragmentation, etc.

Related links:

Antidotes to Sprawl Habitat and Open Space Protection (Region 5)
EPA Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program

Green building design and construction

Green building practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally-sound and resource-efficient buildings by using an integrated approach to design. Green buildings promote resource conservation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation features; consider environmental impacts and waste minimization; create a healthy, comfortable and productive work environment; reduce operation and maintenance costs; and address issues such as historical preservation, access to public transportation and other community infrastructure systems. The entire life-cycle of the building and its components is considered, as well as its economic and environmental impact and performance. Existing buildings can be retrofitted to incorporate many of these features.

(This excerpt adapted from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) site listed below.)

Related links:
U.S. DOE Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development
U.S. DOE Brightfields Initiative
Smart Growth Network
EPA Green Building

Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs)

EIPs are a combination of manufacturing and service businesses designed to coordinate their collective resource needs and processes in order to increase efficient use of raw materials, minimize waste outputs, conserve energy and natural resources, reduce transportation requirements, and provide an aesthetically attractive place to work. Actual EIPs consist of co-located businesses, ideally forming a zero-emissions, closed-loop park while virtual EIPs consist of networks of regional businesses whose services and processes are also connected, but to a lesser degree than actual EIPs

(Excerpt adapted from the Smart Growth Network website listed below.)

Related links:
Smart Growth Network
U.S. DOE Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development
Cornell Work and Environment Program

Local workforce training and development

Since many brownfields are associated with areas that have high unemployment rates, job training and development programs should be established to allow local residents an opportunity to qualify for jobs created as a result of brownfields redevelopment efforts. Such programs not only benefit individuals who are employed, but can also help to reduce pollution associated with transportation to and from work and foster a greater sense of community.

Related links:

EPA Brownfields Workforce Development
Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute