Sustainable Brownfield Regeneration - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 1094

Europe have resulted in large tracts of redundant land. The transition to an indus-
trial economy took place at different times in different parts of Europe. In Britain,
industrialization took place from the late 18th century to the onset of World War I.
In Germany, the main period of industrialisation was from approximately 1870 until
the onset of WorldWar II. In Eastern Europe on the other hand, industrialisation took
place from about 1900 until the early seventies. In the post industrial conditions that
now prevail across most of Europe, many industrial sites have been abandoned as
industries disappear (e.g., manufactured town gas) or move to countries with lower
labour costs (e.g., coal mining). Uncontaminated or Greenfield lands (note that the
two are not synonymous) have become a limited and on occasion scarce resource
in the densely populated and highly industrialised parts of Europe. The reuse of the
abandoned industrial sites is therefore essential. Indeed the effects of the “end of the
noughties” credit crunch has been widespread closure of factories creating a fresh
injection of Brownfield sites.
Alker et al. ( 2000 ) recognised the importance of a precise definition for such
Brownfield sites: Policy was being written to deal with them and budgets allo-
cated to facilitate their return to beneficial use. Whatever the definition, Alker et al.
considered that Brownfields have a set of shared characteristics:

• breakdown of economics;

• problems in attracting new investors;

• high unemployment rate;

• adverse effects on urban life;

• decline of tax income for the communities;

• social conflicts;

• consumption of Greenfields.

Of course as we have seen in the discussion on Chinese Brownfields above,
Brownfields occur in countries where the economy is booming. The city of Ningbo
provides a good example where former factory sites now lie derelict and await-
ing redevelopment in a city growing in size, with a successful economy and no
significant unemployment problem.
Moreover, Brownfields are a consequence of a set of, perhaps unconscious,
shared values that land is a resource to be consumed rather than managed. Indeed
one global mobile phone company's attitude to real estate is to “pay as you go”:
that is to pay, at a reasonable premium, for assembly, office or retail space for as
long as you want it and once you have achieved your local goals and objectives to
be able to simply migrate from that location to the next one. This is reflected in
land use planning policies and practice that focuses on the next land use rather than
the entire life cycle of land use from construction to decommissioning. Such a con-
sume and discard attitude may be understandable, but not condonable, when dealing
with consumer products such as mobile telephones or clothes. However, even in low
population density countries or regions such a consume and discard approach to
land use has been shown to be flawed: the social consequences of the “left behind”
population are externalised and often have to be picked up by the national tax payer
or international aid agencies.