"abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination that can make redevelopment of the property financially or logistically prohibitive" US EPA (1997)

Apart from some of the larger socio-economic benefits of redeveloping brownfields, value-added benefits to a developer/user can include: Access to nearby labour pool Arterial access Development charge waiver may be available due to prior improvement on site Logistical/distribution costs Port-water ingress/egress Proximity to core Public transit routes nearby Rail adjacency Synergies with neighbouring firms

Without question, there are liability obstacles to overcome with just about every brownfield redevelopment project. Some of the difficulties encountered when working on brownfield sites include: Absence of government partnering/incentives promoting rejuvenation Complex regulatory scenario Legislation that is vague and discretionary Crossover economics may be absent Externality Levies payable Liability issues (owner, purchaser, lender, municipality) Title status ('orphan' sites) Secured party on title Tax arrears

Brownfield sites may conform to the first law of real estate economics - location - but run afoul of the second law - feasibility. The truth remains that the end use of any redeveloped brownfield site must be economically viable. Brownfield redevelopment ('smart growth'; sustainability) is the next step in the evolution of major cities. As the expansion of urban areas for development becomes more restricted by environmental constraints, traffic and municipal costs for the provision of new services, the need to explore the adaptive reuse of lands within the city boundaries accelerates.