Strategies for brownfield development based on empirical analyses.

摘要

Brownfield development, a phenomenon of the 1990's, continues to attract attention at the Federal, State, and Local levels. Brownfields are ‘abandoned, idled or underutilized industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.’ These post industrial sites were being developed long before the 1990's. However, initiatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) over the last decade, have raised awareness to the inherent value of these properties and have begun to remove the barriers that can impede the development of brownfields. State governments have followed the lead of the USEPA in the development of legislation and regulations that can promote brownfield development.; Despite all of the ongoing brownfield-related efforts, the literature still lacks rigorous data analysis and proactive strategies based on empirical analyses of ‘what works’ and ‘what does not work’ to ensure a successful brownfield development. Assuming that the industry could benefit from proactive strategies based upon a better understanding of the ‘lessons learned’ from the past, this research begins to fill that gap.; This research serves to quantitatively and empirically confirm a number of themes about brownfield development, which to this point, have only be presented qualitatively. Through data synthesis, this research has demonstrated that: (a) there are measurable and statistically significant differences between ‘successful’ and ‘not-so-successful’ brownfield development; (b) stakeholders have measurable and statistically significant differences in their respective perceptions of success; and, (c) it is possible to model the probability of successful brownfield development using a logit model.; The model serves to quantify some impressions about brownfield development that to this point have only been qualified. It further serves to direct the stakeholders, more specifically regional-level planners, to the focus on the criteria that have a potentially greater impact on the success of the development. Specifically, the models suggest, in order of importance: (1) Gaining the support of the financial institutions; (2) Gaining the support of the local politicians; (3) Consider more greenspace creation and/or preservation in the end use plan; (4) Optimize the location with respect to existing infrastructure; and, (5) Optimize the amount of commercial/office space developed on the property.; The brownfield literature is, at best, weak with regard to empirical studies. Because this research is one of the first contributions to expanded brownfield literature it has generated a number of new question that suggest the merit to additional research, therefore, future research might address: (1) The roles of socio-economic variables; (2) More objective distinction between ‘successful’ and ‘not-so-successful’ sites; (3) A priori definition of the independent and dependent variables to be used in the hypothesis testing and regression analyses; (4) Development of visualization tools based on descriptive data; (5) Consideration of other statistical models, in addition to the logit model; (6) Additional regard to the better established literature base for real estate development; and, (7) Incorporation of uncertainty.