Brownfield properties, often referred to as “brownfields,” are properties where the presence or potential presence of a hazardous chemical or pollutant makes it challenging, risky, and costly to redevelop.

While many people think of brownfields as large, abandoned factories or chemical processing plants, the true scope of brownfield properties is more expansive, often including abandoned gas stations, automotive repair facilities, dry cleaners, farms where pesticides were used, and residential structures built using lead or asbestos-containing materials.

When active, brownfield sites might have been home to businesses and industries that used chemicals harmful to human health and the environment. Over time, arsenic, asbestos, lead, petroleum and hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other contaminants can infiltrate soil, groundwater, airborne particles, and structures due to spillage, improper storage, or container and property deterioration. These pollutants can endanger community health if people are exposed to them.

In addition to harming resident health, brownfields also discourage economic investment in areas that desperately need it. This lack of tax revenue creates further burdens on already challenged municipal budgets in underserved communities that lack access to basic services and amenities.

Redeveloping brownfields improves community health and can help neighborhoods foster broader economic revitalization. And land banks are uniquely positioned to tackle brownfield properties.

© All information and graphics within this video are owned by the Center for Community Progress. This video was made possible via grant funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency.To learn more about brownfield remediation and reuse, go to https://communityprogress.org/resourc...

Video by Tyler Sayer, Modest Motion Studios