Brownfield Redevelopment: An Urban Policy Perspective

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Brownfield RedevelopmentAn Urban Policy
Perspective

• presented to
• Manitoba Environmental Industries Association
• by
• Tom Carter
• Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and
  Adaptation and
• Professor of Geography
• University of Winnipeg
• November 23, 2006

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Brownfields A Definition

• Industrial, commercial or residential sites that
  have not been redeveloped
• Past actions have caused real or suspected
  contamination
• Liabilities associated with contamination
• Examples - railway yards, old warehouses, gas
  stations, industrial sites
• Potential for such sites significant in Winnipeg

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Nova Scotia Tar Ponds The Extreme

• Nominated the most polluted place on earth
• Open to the tides and flows into harbour
• 700,000 tonnes of contaminated soil
• Water polluted with arsenic, lead, PCBs
• Toxins have penetrated living area
• Mortality rate 16 percent higher than national
  average
• 15 varieties of cancer related chemicals
• 400 million allocated to clean up

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Nova Scotia Tar Ponds The Extreme
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Nova Scotia Tar Ponds The Extreme
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Nova Scotia Tar Ponds The Extreme
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Slum Area Kampala Uganda Contaminated but
Occupied
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Slum Area Kampala Uganda Contaminated but
Occupied
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Slum Area Kampala Uganda Contaminated but
Occupied
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Slum Area Kampala Uganda Contaminated but
Occupied
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Garrison Woods Calgary Less Extreme

• 70 hectare abandoned military base
• Created compact, mixed use, pedestrian friendly
  environment
• Smart growth/new urbanism principles
• Refurbished 400 units of military housing
• Added new rental, condo units
• Higher density development
• Well received by the market

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Garrison Woods Calgary Less Extreme
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Garrison Woods Calgary Less Extreme
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Garrison Woods Calgary Less Extreme
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Garrison Woods Calgary Less Extreme
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The Extent of the Problem

• Better data is needed
• 30,000 50,000 sites
• Not all located in urban centres
• 20 percent not heavily contaminated and likely to
  be redeveloped without government incentives
• 20 percent are black holes
• Remaining 60 percent good potential for
  redevelopment but require a partnership approach

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The Extent of the Problem

• Case Study Nova Scotia Tar Ponds
• Nobody wants to touch it
• Case Study False Creek, Vancouver
• Developers rush to cash in

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The Extent of the Problem

• Case Study ICI Canada Inc Plant, Shawinegan
  Quebec
• Has soaked up contaminants for 50 years
• 650,000 litres of solvent trapped in the soil
• Tens of thousands of tonnes of contaminated soil
• Clean-up cost 25 million plus

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The Extent of the Problem

• 450,000 sites in the United States
• 6,500 in New York alone
• U.S. cities have redeveloped approximately 1,000
  sites, 10,000 acres
• Another 700 plus sites in progress

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Geography Matters

• Often centrally located, proximity to the core
• Often close to key transportation routes
• Public transportation nearby
• Rail adjacency
• Services sewer, water, electricity already in
  place

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The Importance to Urban Policy

• Part of a national strategy on urban
  sustainability
• Reduce the need for continued expansion at the
  edge of cities
• Reduce the loss of farmland
• A building block for creating more economically,
  environmentally and socially sustainable
  communities
• green and decontaminated

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The Benefits of Brownfield Redevelopment

• Job creation 74 cities in the U.S. created
  83,000 jobs
• Financial return on underutilized property
• 90 million in local tax revenue in the U.S.
• An estimated 7 billion loss of development and
  tax revenue in Canada
• Community economic development potential
• Elimination of blight, health hazard

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The Benefits of Brownfield Redevelopment (contd)

• Distinctive place making opportunities
• Recreation potential
• Production of affordable housing
• Improved quality of life
• Integration of more sustainable communities into
  existing urban form
• Maximize existing infrastructure and services

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The Benefits of Brownfield Redevelopment (contd)

• Revitalize older neighbourhoods
• Lower municipal infrastructure costs
• Improve air quality
• Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• Higher property values on surrounding sites

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Barriers to Development ofBrownfield Sites

• Environmental policy is an area of shared
  jurisdiction
• Outstanding liability issues
• Liability transfer
• Clean-up costs
• Existing tenants are bottom feeders

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Barriers to Development ofBrownfield Sites
(contd)

• Reluctance to invest in older areas
• Easy access to greenfield sites
• NIMBY
• A reluctant market
• Lack of profitability (weak market)

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Barriers to Development ofBrownfield Sites
(contd)

• Planning process is complicated
• Complex regulatory scenario
• Legislation often vague
• Absence of government incentives
• Absence of partnerships

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How to Make Urban Policy Work

• Has to be a team or partnership approach
• Team has to be inter-disciplinary
• Need a champion
• Informed by comprehensive research
• Risk assessment of site
• Research the market
• Legal, financial, policy, program framework

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How to Make Urban Policy Work (contd)

• Building community awareness/ understanding
• Consultation with stakeholders
• Develop a business case
• Develop community improvement marketing plan
• Municipality has to be a leader

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How to Make Urban Policy Work (contd)

• Best developed under special usecategory
• Good integration with surrounding area
• Mixed-use approach
• Creation of special places a positive approach
• Part of long term strategic plans
• Green building on a remediated brownfield site

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Conclusion

• Inevitable shift from greenfield to
  restorative development. Brownfields have to be
  part of integrated revitalization strategies.

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Eden Project Cornwall England
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Eden Project Cornwall England
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Eden Project Cornwall England