New life for brownfields: across the country, transportation projects play a critical role in revitalizing abandoned industrial properties

Public Roads, July-August, 2003 by Constance M. Hill

What does a relocated roadway in Oregon have in common with a riverfront path in Kansas City and freight movement in New Jersey? All three represented opportunities for transportation projects to help with the redevelopment of formerly contaminated industrial properties known as "brownfields." In each case, transportation played a major role in the successful use of these sites to promote economic development and community revitalization.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Emil Frankel, "Transportation can foster the redevelopment of brownfields through ensuring access to redeveloped sites, considering transportation-related uses among the redevelopment possibilities, and fostering partnerships between Federal, State, and local transportation, economic development, and environmental interests. Redevelopment of brownfields can allow the use of existing infrastructure and services, thereby reducing the cost of new public investment."

A national effort is underway to encourage greater use of brownfields to meet many of the economic, environmental, and social challenges faced by cities and rural communities alike. The Bush Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have identified the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated industrial sites as one of their environmental priorities. The results of recent research funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reveal that transportation plays a critical role in promoting the cleanup, reuse, and redevelopment of brownfields.

Brownfields Defined

The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, signed into law on January 11, 2002, defines these sites as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." The 2002 legislation provides EPA with funding for brownfield programs and initiatives.

EPA estimates that more than 500,000 of these sties exist nationwide, in large and small cities, rural communities, and on tribal lands. Brownfields range from sites already cleaned up to others that are contaminated lightly with pollutants that could be cleaned with reasonable effort and cost. Brownfields are not Superfund sites, which are usually much more heavily contaminated and require more effort and resources to clean up.

Linking Transportation And Brownfields

Recognizing cleanup of these sites as a national priority, USDOT and FHWA support the EPA-led National Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative in a number of ways. In November 2002, USDOT articulated its commitment to revitalization of industrial sites through the Brownfields Federal

Partnership Action Agenda, joining 21 other Federal agencies to formulate an agenda for delivering technical, financial, and other resources to communities to assess, clean up, and redevelop these sites.

Since 1998, FHWA has operated under a policy that permits the use of Federal-aid highway funds to support the transportation components of projects to redevelop brownfields, when appropriate. For example, Federal-aid funds may be used for site assessment and cleanup, or for providing better access to or from a site.

More recently, FHWA funded research to increase understanding of where and how transportation has functioned as a mechanism for redevelopment of brownfields. The results of this first-ever study indicate that transportation facilities have had a significant impact on redevelopment of these sites in a number of communities across the country. The research also shows that opportunities exist for transportation to play an even greater role in the increased use of brownfields for the revitalization of inner-city neighborhoods, protection and creation of green space, control of urban sprawl, and elevation of property values and community tax bases.

FHWA Funds Research

Under the 2001 Minority Institutions of Higher Education Competitive Assistance Program, FHWA funded the research conducted by Clark-Atlanta University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The study's purpose was to analyze brownfield redevelopments around the country where transportation played a major role in the success of the development or in plans for its future. The study describes these projects as brownfield-transportation redevelopments.

The goals of the research were to characterize the nature and role of transportation in brownfield redevelopments and identify opportunities for more successful integration of redevelopment and transportation improvements. The study also sought to clarify how USDOT and FHWA fostered such developments and how Federal transportation agencies can improve the process. An important research contribution was to identify the factors that promote and impede successful brownfield-transportation developments.

The study showed that a variety of transportation facilities were developed in association with brownfields, including new highway construction, roadway improvements and upgrades, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, and transit stations. Through 10 case studies, the FHWA study shows that States across the country are demonstrating the value of partnerships and financial leveraging to help accomplish community goals.