Optimizing Brownfield Strategies in Urbanization Processes

Dear Colleagues,

Brownfields are still a much-discussed topic in the framework of regional development, and at a time of increasingly intensive enforcement of the principles of circularity and sustainability, they represent one of the key challenges of current organizational processes in the development of modern cities, municipalities or other built-up areas. The growing pressure to optimize territorial resources through the revitalization and regeneration of abandoned and unused buildings already integrated into the settlement structure is becoming increasingly urgent. Brownfields, associated with a number of negative effects and problems, however, represent significant potential for the transformation of any territory. Brownfields are not just isolated areas but are part of broader urbanization processes; their regeneration strengthens the internal development of the territory, prevents further land grabbing and loss of landscape or cultural values. From an environmental perspective, the regeneration and recycling of building structures contribute to the reduction in the ecological footprint. The response to solving the brownfield issue is the creation of various strategies and tools at various levels of governance, which, however, are not always up to date, clearly defined, understandable, financially secured, realistically set in time, or appropriately communicated. Brownfields are a multi-perspective problem that requires a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, there should be a common public interest in rationalizing and optimizing strategies that, on the one hand, will make the regeneration processes themselves more effective, and on the other hand, will increase interest in the reuse of brownfields as such. This Special Issue on “Optimizing Brownfield Strategies in Urbanization Processes” aims to consider the economic, social, and environmental aspects of the matter. The regeneration of brownfields is very financially demanding, and therefore the key is to set up a combination of public and private resources for their renewal, as well as the use of subsidy mechanisms and tools to support regeneration. At the same time, it is necessary to proceed from the principle of long-term return on investment, which is manifested not only in the form of an increase in the market value of the area, but also in the form of new jobs or strengthening the attractiveness of the area for residents and investors. Successful brownfield transformation must respond to the needs of local communities, prevent gentrification and the emergence of excluded localities, and support social cohesion. In this regard, participatory planning and strategy formation processes are proven to increase the legitimacy of decisions and at the same time allow for the search for innovative forms of temporary and long-term use of these areas. Optimizing brownfield strategies is not only a technical or economic task, but requires systemic and long-term thinking that connects urbanism, economics, ecology, and sociology. In the context of ongoing urbanization processes, this issue represents a key challenge and opportunity for the current and future development of cities, municipalities, regions, and the territory as such.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to provide insights on assessment or proposals for the formation of strategies to address the issue of brownfields in the context of urbanization processes, especially with regard to their rationalization and optimization in terms of their content and relevance, involvement of actors, reflection of current trends and needs of society in the management and protection of territory and residential areas.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

• The real impact of brownfield regeneration strategies on their actual and successful renewal.
• The main limits, obstacles and problems of strategies in relation to their success.
• The key aspects of the success of implemented strategies and the formulation of recommendations for their implication in future strategies.
• Multi-perspective elements and emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach in successful strategies.
• Brownfield regeneration strategies with regard to the common features (types) of both brownfields and (or) their location in the built-up area (city centre, periphery).
• The needs of urban areas in the future and the determination of potential directions of brownfield regeneration.
• The role and forms of participation in the creation and implementation of strategies into reality.
• Mitigation of the emergence of brownfields in strategies.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Kamila Turečková
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• brownfields
• strategy and reuse planning
• urbanization
• regeneration
• environmental and social responsibility
• urban development planning
• circularity in construction
• sustainability
• regional development
• local and national government