Returns from Redeveloping Brownfields

Redeveloping brownfields is achieving more recognition as a strategy in local community development projects, but relatively little is documented about the financial benefits obtained from public investments in these projects. This article examines 51 brownfield redevelopment projects in Illinois cities and estimates the financial returns to city and state investment. Dividing the projects into categories of industrial/commercial and recreational uses, the authors present innovative practices and factors that affect successful outcomes based on case studies with local officials and community developers. The results of the analyses suggest that cities often recover many times more than their initial investment and, at the same time, address other local issues

Brownfield · Business · Civil engineering · Community development · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental planning · Geography · Investment (military · Political science · Recreation · Redevelopment · State (computer science · Urban regeneration · Engineering · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Housing Market and Economics · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Finance