Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the bathtub fills up. Private sector redevelopment and public sector intervention help
return Brownfields to beneficial use: the bathtub is drained. However, some sites stay
in the Brownfield state for long periods and become progressively harder to return to
beneficial use: the sludge at the bottom of the bathtub. Such long term sites are the
focus of national and regional programmes. If large enough, their impact on local
communities can begin to affect successive generations and create chronic social
problems that can become progressively harder to solve.
25.10 Sustainable Regeneration
Sustainable regeneration is a journey, not a destination. So sustainable regeneration
must ensure that each cycle of land use does not end up in a
cul de sac
. In Bardos
et al. (
Chapter 20
of this topic) the process of reducing unacceptable levels of soil
contamination related risk to acceptable or tolerable levels is discussed. The pro-
cesses of land reclamation, site redevelopment, building renovation, refurbishment
or reuse are discussed by RESCUE (
2005
).
The journey of sustainable regeneration may involve several cycles of land recla-
mation, redevelopment or refurbishment. As cultures change, technologies emerge
or disappear, fashions alter or indeed climates change, once necessary land uses
become redundant and the land they occupied can be put to some new use. This
land reuse is an essential component of successful urban land management and helps
prevent both urban sprawl and derelict or underused urban cores.
The former car manufacturing capital of the world, Detroit, exemplifies the
malaise of “unemployed” post industrial land. In May 2008, the US EPA (United
Fig. 25.7
Detroit suburbs seen from the air. Note the uniform housing developments creating
monotone land use patterns that require car access to retail, education, work and leisure facilities
(source: C P Nathanail, reproduced with permission)
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