Land Revitalization Toolkit

EPA’s Land Revitalization Program can help communities identify possibilities for reusing a contaminated, or potentially contaminated site. Site reuse planning typically creates exciting opportunities within the redevelopment process. 

Included below are guides and tools to help a community through each stage of the contaminated site redevelopment process:

• Reuse Planning
• Pre-Development
• Development
• Reuse Management & Operations

Reuse Planning

Guides

• Forecasting Benefits and Public Returns for Brownfield Redevelopment (pdf) (1.15 MB)  - A getting-started guide to understanding the potential for economic benefits and public returns in brownfields reuse. Economic impact analysis (EIA) and fiscal impact analysis (FIA) are two related techniques that can be used to identify potential benefits and returns or evaluate impact after redevelopment is complete. 
  • Recent Webinar: Forecasting Benefits and Public Returns for Brownfield Redevelopment August 22, 2024 Webinar Slides (pdf) (4.9 MB)
  • Recent Webinar: Forecasting Benefits and Public Returns for Brownfield Redevelopment Webinar Recording (mp3)
• Vacant to Vibrant: Revitalizing Brownfields into Incubator Spaces for Economic Development (pdf) (542.73 KB)  - The industrial and warehouse spaces that once housed thriving businesses in your community may now be ripe for brownfield redevelopment. Bringing an incubator space into your community means creating a supportive space for small businesses to grow together. 
• The  Let it Grow! Build Your Urban Forest with Brownfields (pdf) (12.14 MB, April 2025) provides information and additional resources on how brownfield sites can help a community to build their urban forest by describing how a community can save existing trees on brownfield sites and plant new ones.
• The What Nonprofits Need to Know (pdf) (1.2 MB) explains what a nonprofit needs to know when they encounter a brownfield site as part of a neighborhood revitalization project, what resources are available to nonprofits to help them support the safe reuse of brownfields, strategies shared by nonprofits leading brownfield revitalization projects, and more. 
• 7 Strategies to Minimize Displacement provide information and additional resources on several strategies and tools that brownfields stakeholders can utilize to minimize displacement alongside brownfields planning and reuse.
• The Community Actions that Drive Brownfields Redevelopment guide includes specific actions that a community can take to prepare a brownfield site for cleanup and reuse and make it attractive for public or private investment.
• 15 specific planning activities that can help a community’s site reuse goals align with local economic, infrastructure, social and environmental conditions, and determine which reuses are feasible for the site.
• The New Community Visions for Abandoned Gas Stations (pdf) (8.31 MB) checklist helps communities navigate features common to abandoned gas station sites to inform their assessment and plan for the needed cleanup to meet the community vision for reuse. 
  • The  Ecological Revitalization of Abandoned Gas Stations (pdf) (10.46 MB)  checklist offers an accessible way for communities dealing with abandoned gas stations to follow steps that bring more life to the environment through ecological revitalization. 
• Preparing Your Plan for Site Reuse (pdf) (2.93 MB)  helps a community evaluate the financial feasibility of different brownfields revitalization scenarios.
• Stream Daylighting at Brownfield Sites explains the benefits and challenges of daylighting a stream when addressing brownfield and other contaminated areas, and describes the information and key decisions needed to determine whether daylighting is right for your community.
• Revitalizing Brownfield Sites into Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (pdf) (857.6 KB, February 2025) - As more electric vehicles (EVs) enter roadways every year, a broader charging infrastructure network is needed to fuel these vehicles. Cleaning up and transforming underused and potentially contaminated properties into EV charging stations is a strategic way to meet this demand. This 6-page fact sheet details benefits and considerations for redeveloping brownfields into charging stations. Additional information is provided on evaluating economic feasibility, benefits of co-locating solar and battery storage, and links to additional resources.
• Brownfields Stakeholder Forum Kit provides example agendas, invitations, logistics, etc as well as other guidance to assist communities in engaging stakeholders and establishing partnerships to address brownfields revitalization challenges.
• Templates for Region 3 Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) are intended to aid in the writing of Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) in accordance with the EPA QAPP Standard. They are intended to assist organizations in documenting the programmatic, procedural and analytical requirements for brownfields assessment projects eligible for funding under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) § 104(k). Developed by Region 3 to assist those preparing a QAPP for Brownfields projects.

Tools

• Public Infrastructure Coordination Assessment and Planning (short how-to video and tool (xlsx) (570.19 KB) ): Helps a community develop a coordinated approach to infrastructure asset management. Can be used to assess progress and benefits of cross-system/cross-department or city-wide asset management.
• Residential Demolition Tool: A guide for communities facing residential demolition to help them achieve improved environmental results during demolition. Includes contractor bid specification development tools for use by cities, counties or land banks undertaking large-scale residential demolitions.

Pre-Development

Guides

• The Anatomy of Brownfields Redevelopment (pdf) (3.83 MB) guide explains how the brownfields cleanup and reuse process from the real estate development perspective.
• RE-Development Academies (2019, 2021 versions)
  • For community members who wish to learn how developers approach contaminated site redevelopment. View archives:
    • Part 1: Intersection of Real Estate and Brownfields
    • Part 2: Peering into the Crystal Ball: How the Market Decides Future Use
    • Part 3: Pulling Back the Curtain: How Developers Make Money
  • For community members who wish to learn how to reposition sites, manage risk, and overcome challenges to attracting investment to brownfield sites. View archives:
    • Part 1:  Removing the Barriers: Repositioning Brownfields Sites for Success
    • Part 2:  Risky Business: Overcoming Challenges to Attracting Investment at Brownfield Sites
    • Part 3:  Show Me How: Brownfields Redevelopment in Economically Distressed Areas
•  How to Leverage Funding and Other Resources for Brownfields Revitalization (pdf) (4.68 MB) assists communities in finding and attracting sufficient funding for brownfields redevelopment projects.
• Creating a Brownfields Investment Package (pdf) (3.12 MB)  explains how to compile relevant site information into a highly visual communications and marketing document. 

Tool 

• The Community Reuse Property Prioritization Tool is designed to help communities prioritize properties based on a specific reuse plan. Additionally, the Tool supports communities in developing a low-level inventory that can be used to prioritize brownfields for future assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment by capturing information that will help estimate the complexity of such activities.

Development

Guide

• Cleaning Up Brownfields under State Response Programs - Getting to "No Further Action" guide for owners of brownfields properties on the general requirements for enter­ing a brownfield into a state cleanup program and the process for attaining a state decision or certification of the need for “no further action” under each state response program.

Tools

• Deconstruction Rapid Assessment Tool: Assists communities and contractors with assessing the potential value of materials that could be recycled by deconstructing a structure rather than demolishing it.
• Deconstruction Tools for Tribes and Rural Communities: Two tools that provide a step-by-step approach for calculating the feasibility and value of deconstructing buildings, reclaiming materials, and recycling materials for potential profit.
  • Checklist for Assessing the Feasibility of Building Deconstruction for Tribes and Rural Communities
  • Building Material Reuse and Recycling Estimating Tool
• Urban agriculture & aquaponics assist communities that are seeking agricultural reuses for brownfields. Includes guidance for developing a business plan for the setup and operation of urban farm and aquaponics facilities
  • Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook
  • Urban Farm Business Plan Worksheets
  • Urban Farm Business Plan Financial and Planning Spreadsheets
  • Aquaponics Business Plan User Guide
  • Aquaponics Business Plan Worksheets
  • Aquaponics Business Plan Spreadsheets

Reuse Management & Operations

Guide

•  "New Manufacturing on Old Brownfields" makes the case for siting advanced manufacturing facilities on brownfields by showcasing examples from three communities that are revitalizing brownfields for new manufacturing. It also includes a resource guide to assist communities working to reuse brownfields for new manufacturing.

Tool

• Brownfields and Urban Agriculture: Interim Guidelines for Safe Gardening Practices: (pdf) (1.82 MB) Guidelines for developing agricultural reuse projects on brownfields.