When brownfields sit idle, everybody loses. Neighbors face environmental worries and reduced property values. Cities see roads, sewers, and other infrastructure underused. And brown-field owners must deal with a long list of worries from potential lawsuits to deriving too little income from their property. When developers clean up brownfields and put them to new uses, many people benefit.
Cleanups address environmental problems.
Redevelopment can bring new jobs and higher tax revenues. Revitalized brownfields can breathe new life into neighborhoods. Brownfields offer opportunities that go beyond their old uses. Developers have transformed brownfields into everything from golf courses and driving ranges to mixed develop-ments with housing, offices, shopping, and open space. Smaller properties have found new life as bakeries and greenhouses.