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The "war" against brownfields consists of cleanup and redevelopment. And the soldiers are builders government agencies, private companies, financial institutions, community and business organizations, labor unions, educational institutions, tribal governments, and concerned citizens of the affected communities.

A number of federal and local organizations have jumped into the "battle." The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to offer grants in 1993; by the end of 2000, 362 communities had received aid. Numerous cities across the country have "rolled up their municipal sleeves" and, with or without outside help, have tackled their unused areas.

Key Battlegrounds

As the centerpiece of Salt Lake City's recently approved Gateway District Land Use & Development Master Plan, The Gateway is the first phase of a multiyear commitment to develop 650 acres (265 hectares) in the urban core, the largest redevelopment project in the state's history

Salt Lake City's Union-Pacific railroad depot had been a classic urban brownfield, polluted by decades of industrial use. In stark contrast, the redevelopment master plan calls for 10,000 new residential units, cultural facilities, retail, as well as the city's major transportation hub for bus and rail. This will also serve as a leading hub for social and commercial activity.

J. Christian Bollwage, mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey, points to his town as an example of how job creation, environmental cleanup, and natural habitat restoration can occur simultaneously, and for profit.

In one of New Jersey's oldest urban industrial areas, a former 170-acre (70-hectare) municipal landfill, which had been closed and unproductive since 1972, has been transformed into the Jersey Gardens Metro Mall, a 1.8 million-square-foot (170,000-square-meter) shopping mall.

The project is creating an estimated 5,000 new permanent jobs, 1,700 temporary and construction jobs, and $5 million per year in tax revenues.

Elizabeth mayor Bollwage is a co-chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Brownfields Task Force. Sharing that position with him is Dayton, Ohio mayor Michael Turner.

Turner's city has shown that vacant warehouses as well as abandoned older houses have the potential of being brought back into productive use through residential and commercial development. Abandoned warehouses in downtown Dayton are being transformed into upscale condominium lofts.

Another example is Dayton's Rehabarama project which has successfully renovated formerly abandoned and deteriorated houses, some of them in historic districts, many of them requiring lead paint and asbestos abatement. "The results are amazing," says Turner. "These neighborhoods have experienced a resurgence with people moving back into the city and into these neighborhoods."

In San Francisco, the National Park Service successfully developed a plan for a new urban park. They transformed 100 miles (160 kilometers) of shoreline including the toxic brownfield, Crissy Field, an abandoned military base and airfield. The new park is considered the gateway to San Francisco as it overlooks the city skyline.

The park, which was once covered by asphalt and hard-packed dirt and surrounded by chain-link fences, is now used for walking, jogging, biking, windsurfing, bird watching, and other outdoor sports. The project involved the Bay Area residents in both the fundraising and the habitat restoration. Listening to the needs of the residents, potential users of the park, contributed to its success.

While economic development is a critical component of brownfields redevelopment, the EPA recognizes that establishing and restoring green space is also important and can be a viable end use for brownfields.

Green-space uses include parks, playgrounds, trails, gardens, habitat restoration, and open space preservation. Twenty one pilot projects were recently awarded $50,000 for green space assessments.

The Home Builders Weigh In

Another U.S. organization that has taken an active interest in brownfields redevelopment is the National Association of Home Builders. NAHB is a Washington-based association representing more than 200,000 member firms and professionals involved in homebuilding, remodeling, and multifamily construction.

"Brownfields reform is a key part of NAHB's smart growth and environmental agenda to allow innovative land-use planning techniques to be used in building higher density and mixed-use development," said Bruce Smith, president of NAHB and a homebuilder from Walnut Creek, California.

A brownfields bill, authored by Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, and passed in the U.S. Senate in April 2001, would provide $150 million a year over five years to assess and clean up abandoned and underused brownfields.

Because brownfield redevelopment reverses neighborhood deterioration, revitalizes urban neighborhoods, and creates sustainable community improvement, many cities are successfully fostering such redevelopment within their boundaries.

This redevelopment is becoming increasingly popular today, especially in urban communities in need of more living space. When redeveloped, the former vacant industrial sites can remove ecological threats, bring a boost to a tired neighborhood, create new job opportunities, add income to the municipality's treasury.

And bring a sense of pride to its citizens.

Lili Eylon is a freelance writer based in Jerusalem and a contributing editor to ArchitectureWeek.

A 170-acre municipal landfill in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which had been closed and unproductive since 1972, has been transformed into the Jersey Gardens Metro Mall. Photo: Glimcher Realty Trust The Jersey Gardens Metro Mall will create an estimated 5,000 new jobs and generate $5 million per year in tax revenues. Photo: Glimcher Realty Trust The former Beaver Power Building in Dayton, Ohio, required extensive rehabilitation including asbestos and lead paint removal. Photo: Chris Lipson, City of Dayton Attractive loft apartments are being created from the rescued warehouses in Dayton. Photo: Chris Lipson, City of Dayton Until 1994, Crissy Field was a military airfield, part of the Presidio of San Francisco. Photo: National Park Service Since 1994, the U.S. National Park Service has rehabilitated Crissy Field and restored a tidal marsh where a parking lot used to be. Photo: © 2001 David Sanger   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.