- Investment in Brownfields Leverages Private Investment and Creates Jobs: $1 of public investment in brownfields leverages $8 in total investment; $10,000 to $13,000 in public investments creates/retains one job.[1]
- Brownfield Redevelopment Revitalizes Neighborhoods As Measured by Adjacent Property Value Increases. Cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield properties lead to property value increases on the order of 5% to 15% for properties that are up to 3/4 mile from the site.[2]
- Public Investment in Brownfields Results in Direct Generation of Local Tax Revenue. Public investments in brownfields are generally recouped from local taxes generated by the project within about three years.[3] A national survey found that redeveloping brownfields in just 105 surveyed cities could lead to $2.2 billion in local tax revenue, annually.
- Brownfields Redevelopment Has Lower Infrastructure Costs. The cost of providing infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, electricity, etc) to a greenfield site averages $50,000 to $60,000 per unit, compared to $5,000 to $10,000 per unit for a brownfield or greyfield site. [4]
- Urban Brownfields Redevelopment accommodates Growth without Sprawl. One acre of redeveloped brownfields saves 4.5 acres of farms and countryside from sprawl development due to higher density of development on brownfield sites and the elimination or reduction of the additional lands for associated infrastructure for greenfield development.[5]
- Brownfield Redevelopment Has Lower a Carbon Footprint and produces Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Improvements. A recent report released by Urban Land Institute (ULI) documents that compact urban development, as an alternative to sprawl, could reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 20 percent to 40 percent.[6] Studies of brownfields projects indicate similar VMT savings.[7] These reduced VMT’s translate directly to emission reductions and greenhouse gas savings of a similar or greater magnitude. This is in part due to proximity to mass transit.
- Brownfield Redevelopment has Water Quality Benefits/Less Run-off. Brownfields development, because it tends to be higher density than alternative greenfields development, lowers run-off and improves water quality.[8]
[1] NorthEast-MidWest Institute Digest Report, Brownfields
Policy Research, Volume 1, Number 3, August 15, 2008
[2] De Sousa, C. and C. Wu. “Assessing the Impact of
Publicly Supported Brownfields Redevelopment on Surrounding Property Values.”
(In Progress)
[3] De Sousa, C. 2006. “Unearthing the benefits of
brownfield to green space projects: An examination of project use and quality
of life impacts.” Local Environment
11(5): 577-600.
[4]
Environmental and Energy Studies Institute and the Funders Network, “Energy and
Smart Growth and Energy, it’s about What and Where We Build.”
[5] George Washington
University, see http://www.gwu.edu/~eem/Brownfields/
[6] Urban
Land Institute, Smart Growth America, the Center for Clean Air Policy, and the
National Center for Smart Growth, “Growing Cooler, Evidence on Urban
Development and Climate Change,” http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/gcindex.html
[7] US Conference of
Mayors, “Clean Air/Brownfields Report,” December, 2001.
[8] Lynn Richards,
“Water and the Density Debate,’ Planning Magazine, June 2006, APA http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/water_density.htm