Sticks and Stones: The Impact of the Definitions of Brownfield in Policies on Socio-Economic Sustainability
School of Geography, Sir Clive Granger Building, University of Nottingham, University Park, NG7 2RD, UK
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Sustainability 2012, 4(5), 840-862; https://doi.org/10.3390/su4050840
Received: 15 February 2012 / Revised: 19 April 2012 / Accepted: 24 April 2012 / Published: 3 May 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Regeneration and Sustainability)
Many countries encourage brownfield regeneration as a means of sustainable development but define “brownfield” differently. Specifically, the definitions of brownfield in the regeneration policies of countries with higher population densities usually promote recycling land that is previously developed, whether or not there is chemical contamination. Further, the de facto definition of brownfield used by the UK government focuses on previously developed land that is unused or underused. The ANOVA in this study revealed that local authorities in England (n = 296) with higher percentages of derelict and vacant land tended to be more deprived based on the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation, which evaluate deprivation from the aspects of income, employment, health, education, housing, crime, and living environment. However, the percentage of previously developed land in use but with further development potential had no significant effect on the deprivation conditions. The Blair-Brown Government (1997~2010) encouraged more than 60% of new dwellings to be established on the previously developed land in England. The analyses in this study showed that this target, combined with the definition of brownfield in the policy, may have facilitated higher densities of residential development on previously developed land but without addressing the deprivation problems. These observations indicate that a definition of brownfield in regeneration policies should focus on previously developed land that is now vacant or derelict if land recycling is to contribute to sustainable communities.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Tang, Y.-T.; Nathanail, C.P. Sticks and Stones: The Impact of the Definitions of Brownfield in Policies on Socio-Economic Sustainability. Sustainability 2012, 4, 840-862. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4050840
AMA Style
Tang Y-T, Nathanail CP. Sticks and Stones: The Impact of the Definitions of Brownfield in Policies on Socio-Economic Sustainability. Sustainability. 2012; 4(5):840-862. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4050840
Chicago/Turabian StyleTang, Yu-Ting; Nathanail, C. Paul. 2012. "Sticks and Stones: The Impact of the Definitions of Brownfield in Policies on Socio-Economic Sustainability" Sustainability 4, no. 5: 840-862. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4050840
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