2 Definition of Brownfield and Brownfield Redevelopment
Brownfield is a coinage from “greenfield” and its semantic counterpart (De Sousa, 2000). Greenfield is formerly undeveloped area (Greenberg et al., 2001). The differences between greenfield and brownfield are presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Comparison between greenfield and brownfield Greenfield Brownfield Development Undeveloped Developed Land use type Farmland, woodland, wetland, etc. Ipnrodupesrtrtiiaels ,d wisatrreicht,o cusome, emtecr.cial Characteristics Green, clean and pristine pCootnetnatmialin)ated (known or Location Periphery of city Inner city Treatment before development oRpemadeyn t for devel-Ndeeveedlionpgm enttreatment before.
Agencies, institutions and scholars have defined brownfield in various ways. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defined brownfield as“abandoned, idled, or underutilized industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination”(USEPA, 1997). The American Planning Association(APA) defined brownfield as “vacant or underused properties passed over for development due to actual or perceived contamination or other obstacles” (APA, 2005).Alker et al. (2000) proposed a universal definition of brownfield land as “any land or premises which has previously been used or developed and is not currently fully in use, although it may be partially occupied or utilized. It may also be vacant, derelict or contaminated. Therefore a brownfield site is not necessarily available for immediate use without intervention.” The third definition is much broader than the first two. Nevertheless, the British National Land Use Database included such kind of site that are “currently in use but subject to a local plan allocation or planning consent and currently in use but with potential for redevelopment” in the realm of brownfield (NLUD, 2000). This definition would be too broad and general to tackle in actual practice. Based on the above definitions and the Chinese urban land use status quo, brownfield should be defined as “the industrial and commercial lands, sites and facilities in urban areas, which are abandoned, idled or underused due to real or perceived environmental threats and other developing obstacles, and cannot be immediately put into use without treatment.”
Brownfield redevelopment (or brownfield regeneration, brownfield reuse) is a strategy for dealing with the aforementioned lands and redeveloping them for suitable purposes through measures to overcome barriers to brownfield reuse. After successful redevelopment, these areas may turn into residential neighborhoods, retail centers, office blocks, light industrial facilities, parks, studios, recreation areas and so on.