Regional Approaches and Tools
for Sustainable Revitalization
Documentation of a Workshop of the U.S.-German Bilateral Working Group,
May 8 and 9,2008 - New York, New York
vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
SPONSORED BY THE
Federal Ministry
of Education
and Research
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This brochure documents the workshop "Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization"on May 8 and 9,2008
- New York, New York in the framework of Phase 4 of the U.S.-German Bilateral Working Group, sponsored by the German
Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).
A publication of the Research Program on "Research for the Reduction of Land Consumption and for Sustainable Land
Management (REFINA)"of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
The material in this document has been subject to Agency technical and policy review, and approved for publication as an
EPA report. The views expressed by individual authors, however, are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Special thanks to Steve Soler for his outstanding contributions to the success of this workshop, specifically, securing the
location of the workshop and organizing the special activities.
Published by
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Photo and Picture Credits
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(No. 8); Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) (No. 13,14);
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Regional Approaches and Tools
for Sustainable Revitalization
Documentation of a Workshop of the U.S.-German Bilateral Working Group,
May 8 and 9,2008 - New York, New York
-------
Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization
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Regional AppiojchM uui Ttxrit for SusLiliubie R«vita)Lutlan
Contents
i. Introduction .., , , , ., , i
2. Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management ... 4
2.1 Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management Case Description U.S.:
Greater New York Metropolitan Region and Minneapolis-Saint Paul Minnesota Metropolitan Area 5
2.2 Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management Case Description Germany;
Saarland's Balanced Land-use Concept , 7
2.3 Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management: Discussion and Conclusion 8
3. Financial Management ..,....,..,.., ,..,... ,...... ..,............,...........,..,.,...,,,.,.,.,,.,...,.,..io
3.1 Financial Management Case Description US: Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) model 11
3.2 Financial Management Case Description Germany: Mercantile Value Reduction:
Accounting for Stigma on Contaminated Land in Germany . u
3.3 Financial Management: Discussion and Conclusions ,.,,, ...14
4. Brownscape Design , 15
4.1 Brownscape Design Case Description Germany/U.S,:
Coalmine Westerholt, Germany and Northwest Aluminum,The Dalles, Oregon, U.S 16
4.2 Brownscape Design Case Description J.S,: Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S .,.,-........ .., ... , 21
4.3 Brownscape Design: Discussion and Conclusion 23
5. Cross-Cutting- Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritiiation , , t.,.,.as
5,1 Cross Cutting Case Description US: Niagara Region , 2b
5,2 Cross Cutting Case Description US: Stella, Missouri . , ,.. ., 28
5.3 Cross Cutting Case Description Germany:
Cost-effective reclamation and maintenance of Brownfield sites (KOSAR) ....,. -«,,,«»,3i
5.4 Cross Cutting Case Description Germany:
Strategies for the Revitalization of Brownfield Areas in the Larger Potsdam Region (SINBRA) -
Technology Demonstration Platform . ~ ., 33
5.5 Cross Cutting: Discussion and Conclusion ^....35
6, Con elusion 5.,....,.,..,.,,,..,..,,...,,,.,,.,............,.............,,....^................--.'-jfi
6.1 Incorporations in SMARTe ,-.., ..,,,... .., , ,. ,...., 37
6.2 Incorporations in the REFINA program . , , .......38
6.3 Next Steps of US-German Bilateral Working Group 39
7. Participant List - Including Authors , .., 4°
iii
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Introduction
E H E M B R
A N C E
zing Team
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Introduction
Overview
There is growing international recognition that revitaliza-
tion of regions containing potentially contaminated sites to
meet economic, environmental/ecological, and social/cul-
tural demands can and should contribute to the sustainabil-
ity of the human and natural environment by improving
environmental quality and sustaining ecosystem integrity.
Sustainable regional revitalization seeks to incorporate a
balance of social, economic, and environmental interests
and objectives into growing and developing communities as
well as shrinking cities.Achievingthis balance is increasingly
important in the cleanup and revitalization of regions incor-
porating sites with real or perceived contamination, since
many of these areas are not meeting their full economic,
environmental/ecological, or social/cultural potential.
In order to encourage regional revitalization that balances
social, environmental, and economic sustainability, it is
important that local communities have access to practical
strategies and tools to match best practices to local condi-
tions and achieve the right balance for the particular
region. The U.S.-German Bilateral Working Group, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the German
Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) spon-
sored this workshop to share information and approaches
developed in both countries. This workshop was the first in
a series of workshops planned for this Bilateral Working
Group's focus on regional revitalization. The intent of this
collaboration is to form strategies and tools that can be dis-
seminated to local communities and other revitalization
practitioners to facilitate sustainable regional revitaliza-
tion. The presented approaches from Germany are devel-
oped by research projects within BMBF's REFINA research
program (http://www.refina-info.de/en/) through which
the dissemination will also occur. In the U.S.,this dissemina-
tion will occur through the Sustainable Management
Approaches and Revitalization Tools - electronic website
(www.smarte.org).
Workshop Goal and General Outline
The focus of the 2-day workshop was on international shar-
ing of information on four primary topics: Regional Infra-
structure and Trans-boundary Management, Financial
Management, Brownscape Design, and Cross-Cutting
Regional Planning. The overall purpose of the workshop
was to share current information from Germany and the
United States on key elements of research results, success-
ful implementation, references and models, prioritization
criteria, tools, processes, and approaches for determining
reuse of individual sites in the context of the larger, overall
region. The format of the workshop consisted of presenta-
tions from the perspective of each country on each of the
four topics followed by a facilitated discussion on the pre-
sented material and associated information.
The Case Descriptions, which follow in Sections 2-5, provide
a description of the tools and approaches presented at the
workshop for each of the 4 topics. At the end of each topi-
cal section, the Discussion and Conclusion summarizes the
facilitated discussion for that topic. Section 6 identifies
workshop outcomes and next steps of the US-German
Bilateral Working Group.
Workshop Participants
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Introduction
Programme Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization Workshop
May 8,2008
Time
8:00
8:30
9:15
1O:OO
1O:3O
12:OO
1:30
2:15
3:OO
3:30
5:OO
6:OO
Introduction
RITM - Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
Cooperative Implementation of Regional Plans
Lyle Wray (Capital Region Council of Governments, Hartford, CT) and David Kooris
(Connecticut Office, Regional Plan Association):
Case description U.S.: Greater New York Metropolitan Region
Hans-Peter Klein (LEG Saar):
Case description Germany: Saarland's Balanced Land-use Concept
Break
Discussion - Document key elements of successful implementation; comparable factors
and differences between the U.S. and Germany; next steps; products
Lunch
Financial Management - Shadow Effect
Reimund Schwarze (Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Umweltforschung GmbH - UFZ):
Mercantile Value Reduction: Accounting for Stigma on Contaminated Land in Germany
Stan McMillen (Department of Economic and Community Development [CT]):
Financial Management Case description US: Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) model
Break
Discussion - Document references and examples of models, examples and approach elements;
comparable factors and differences between the U.S. and Germany; next steps; products
Site Tour
Dinner
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Introduction
May 9,2008
Time
8:30
9:00
9:30
1O:OO
1O:3O
12:OO
1:30
2:15
3:OO
3:30
5:OO
6:OO
Brownscape Design
Rebekka Gessler (TU Muenchen):
Case Description Germany/U.S.:Westerholt, Germany
Doug MacCourt (Ater Wynne):
Case Description Germany/U.S.:The Dalles, Oregon, U.S.
Victor Ketellapper (EPA):
Case Description U.S.: Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.
Break
Discussion - Document criteria, tools, and process elements; comparable factors and differences
between the U.S. and Germany; next steps; products
Lunch
Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
Uwe Ferber (Ferber, Graumman und Partner)
Cost-effective reclamation and maintenance of Brownfield sites (KOSAR)
Martin Bittens (Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Umweltforschung GmbH - UFZ)
Strategies for the Revitalization of Brownfield Areas in the Larger Potsdam Region
Tom DeSantis (City of Niagara, NY):
Case Description U.S.: Niagara Region
Verle Hansen (EPA)
Cross Cutting Case Description U.S.: Stella, Missouri
Break
Discussion - Document criteria and approach ideas; comparable factors and differences
between the U.S. and Germany; next steps; products
Team Leader Reports
Closing Remarks
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&
Hans-Peter Klein and Oavis Koo1
Lyle Wray
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
2.1 Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
Case Description U.S.: Greater New York Metropolitan Region
and Minneapolis-Saint Paul Minnesota Metropolitan Area
Lyle Wray and David Kooris
Regional Planning Through Research,
Advocacy and Demonstration
Regional Plan Association (RPA) is a unique organization
dedicated to the competitiveness and quality of life of
the greater New York metropolitan region, and it is the
only non-governmental entity that looks at the metro-
politan region in its entirety. Established in the early
19205, RPA is the nation's oldest regional planning organ-
ization and has, since then, improved spatial develop-
ment in the tri-state region through research, advocacy,
and on-the-ground demonstration projects. Covering
portions of 3 states including 31 counties and over 750
municipalities, RPA has created three regional plans that
have outlined the challenges of and a strategy for contin-
ued equitable and environmentally sensitive growth for
the region.
RPA Research, Advocacy, and Case Studies Work to Enhance
Competitiveness and Quality of Life
Over the past several decades, growth trends in the region
have been more spatially dispersed and automobile
dependent, threatening the long-term competitiveness
and livability of the region by shackling future generations
to fuel consumptive land use patterns and a degraded
legacy of environmental quality, open spaces, and commu-
nity character. Spatial growth projections for the Tri-State
Region predict that, given current zoning regulations and
development trends, much of the open space and green
infrastructure of the region will be lost to suburbanization,
often at the expense of the region's constellation of his-
toric town and village centers. Development has become
increasingly land consumptive over time. While the aver-
age land consumption before 1986 in the state of New Jer-
sey increased by 0.16 acres per capita, between 1986 and
1995 it had reached a staggering 0.48 acres.These develop-
ment trends are clearly unsustainable and will, over time,
destroy the quality of life in the region.
Projected
Urbanized Land
Spatial Growth Projections for the New York Metropolitan Region
Demonstrate Potential for Sprawl
In an effort to combat these trends, RPA research and
advocacy focus on strategies for balancing economic
growth with social equity and environmental preservation.
Paramount to this goal is the provision of alternative
mobility choices to the automobile and development that
is pedestrian- and transit-oriented. Recently, funding was
secured for a series of system-shaping transit improve-
ment projects that will result in the seamless integration
of the region's presently disparate commuter rail services.
With a fully integrated network of transit options, approx-
imately five hundred commuter rail station areas have the
combined capacity to accommodate a commanding share
of the region's growth through redevelopment and infill.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
Somerville, NJ
Recent work in one such community - Somerville, NJ -
demonstrates the potential for brownfield redevelop-
ment through a robust participatory process. Over the
course of 18 months, RPA staff worked with key stakehold-
ers and the community at large to craft a plan for the
reuse of 120 acres that housed a former municipal landfill
and rail support properties. Initial community needs
included active and passive recreation with little or no pri-
vate structures.The public process began with a series of
lectures covering mixed-use development, transit-
friendly communities, walkability, the myths of density
and other topics to educate local stakeholders on impor-
tant planning issues. After a robust and informed discus-
sion on these topics and formulation of a community
vision, focus shifted to land use options for the site. Para-
mount to the eventual success was the clear articulation
of the market realities and fiscal implications of various
development types. A transparent dialogue that explored
the totality of site preparation and amenity costs coupled
with local precedents to demonstrate the fiscal realities
of compact, transit-oriented development resulted in a
plan that combined 1,200 mixed housing units, retail,
office, passive, and active recreation in a complete com-
munity.
Aerial Rendering of the Somerville Station Area Village Resulting from
Public Planning Process
Regional Redevelopment in the Minneapolis-
Saint Paul Minnesota Metropolitan Area
Over the past 30 years since the creation of the regional
government in the form of the Metropolitan Council in 1967
a number of programs and policies have been established
to redirect growth to developed areas. The success of the
region in building a high quality of life is in large part
dependent on a large portfolio of such measures from
major infrastructure investments in transportation and
transit, upgrading housing stock, an extensive regional park
and trail system, and financial tax base sharing to name a
few.
In 1970 the Metropolitan Fiscal Disparities Law was passed
that placed 40% of all new commercial and industrial tax
base into a shared pool for the region as a whole with the
intent of discouraging green field development and of
compressing the range of resources available to more and
less affluent towns. This program has reduced the ratio
from about 16 to i to 4 to i for the most to least resources
per community. In 1996 the Metropolitan Livable Communi-
ties Act was passed covering the seven-county metropoli-
tan area that put in place grants, now in excess of $150 mil-
lion awarded, to encourage transit-oriented, mixed use,
mixed income housing in the developed area with funds for
brownfield remediation and affordable housing in addi-
tion. This has "jump started" transit oriented development
so that when the first light rail line joined downtown Min-
neapolis with the airport and Mall of America, communities
were positioned to take advantage of the opportunity to
add more than 5000 units of housing along the transit cor-
ridor in less than 5 years. In addition to these two laws, sub-
stantial foundation and corporate funding has been made
available for affordable housing development and for com-
munity design improvements through several regional
design resources. The core conclusion is that a fairly exten-
sive portfolio of redevelopment mechanisms operating in a
cumulative fashion over a 30 year period has comple-
mented a series of efforts such as regional park and trail
systems, stringent environmental measures, and substan-
tial state aid to communities (78 percent of local school
funding comes from state sources) to yield a high quality of
life region.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
2.2. Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
Case Description Germany: Saarland's Balanced Land-use Concept
Hans-Peter Klein
Saarland Demographic Situation
The state of Saarland is the smallest of the 16 German states
and borders two neighboring countries: France and Luxem-
bourg. The area size is about 2.5 square kilometers and the
population amounts to about i million. After the decline of the
coal mining and steel factories in the late 19605, the biggest
challenge that the Saarland has to face is the projected
change of the age pattern. The Saarland is expected to lose
about 30 % of its population by the year 2050. So the decrease
in population and the increase of the average age is resulting
in a change in age-pattern, which will have a strong influence
on the land use in the future. Examples of affected sectors
include: land-management, public utilities, public transporta-
tion, schools, and residential housing for elderly people. The
government of the Saarland has reacted to this situation and
has realized that it is of key-importance to actively manage
the demographic change. The state action plan is the "Saar-
land agenda", which describes general goals for the future
development of the society. An inter-department committee
"Demographic change" has been established in the state gov-
ernment, and the first status report on the issue has been
compiled.
Balanced Land Use Concept
The concept for balanced land use should avoid increased
land development and limit the net footprint of communi-
ties. Natural open spaces should be preserved and restored as
far as possible to their natural functions.This comprises reuse
of brownfields for economical, residential or landscape
restoring development and allows development of green-
field land where it is sustainable and appropriate.This is con-
sidered necessary to match the changing requirements of
industry and business for the location and the shape of their
spaces in the future. Because not every requirement of indus-
try and business can be met by re-using brownfields, new
greenfield developments should still be possible but mini-
mized by recovering space that was used for prior settle-
ments and restoring those to open spaces.
The Goal
The Goal of the balanced land-use concept for Saarland is to
level out new greenfield developments with recovering open
spaces in areas that have been developed before and are not
needed anymore. The main driver of this activity will be a vol-
untary participation of communities in a funding program that
targets strengthening the urban cores of villages and towns by
co-funding public grants, which are combined with the require-
ment to recover open spaces at the rims of the communities.
The Cornerstones
The cornerstones of the concept are to focus on re-activating
the functionality of urban cores by granting redevelopment of
urban sites and to include all brownfields whether publicly or
privately owned. It requires recovering the same size of land
for open space as is lost by development. It will be of crucial
importance for achieving the goals of zero growth to grant
smart shrinking with financial aids for inner-core redevelop-
ment. That means that economic incentives are given to re-
develop urban cores instead of developing rims, while hoping
to attract people or businesses. The main measures to gain
acceptance are the voluntary participation of municipalities in
the program and its congruence with existing granting pro-
grams. This new concept is therefore part of an existing fund-
ing mechanism, and it still allows new development, if it is
compensated.
Suggested Measures
To promote the desired qualitative growth, a greenfield
development fee will make it costly to waste space, and
municipalities will be required to conduct cost-benefit-analy-
ses for their intended greenfield developments. This allows
them to identify the risks that might accompany these plans.
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Four different types of sites
Type i sites are the well-known inner-urban brownfields.
Type 2 sites are typical sites that are fallow because urban
sprawl of the past has to be managed or repaired today.
Type 3 sites are compensation sites that are already part
of a building plan but are not needed due to a lack of
demand on the land market. They should be converted
back to open space.
Type 4 abstention-sites may be a German specialty due to
prior land development plans that gave a special quota to
the municipalities with the right to develop that land. In
many cases, however, these quota are not needed due to
a lack of demand.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
2.3 Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management:
Discussion and Conclusion
Gary Riley
Three presenters addressed the "Regional Infrastructure
and Trans-boundary Management" theme at the BWG
Workshop. Lyle Wray, Executive Director of the Capital
Region Council of Governments, discussed "Cooperative
Implementation of Regional Plans: Toolkits for Sustainable
Revitalization - Regional Tax Base Sharing and Beyond."
David Kooris, Connecticut Director for the Regional Plan
Association, presented "Voluntary Implementation of
Regional Plan through Participatory Planning". Hans-Peter
Klein, Saarland Planning and Construction Corporation, pre-
sented the "Saarland's Balanced Land-use Concept" of the
German Federal State of Saarland.
The participatory planning process described by Mr. Kooris'
presentation showed a successful example of how his organ-
ization is working through voluntary means to direct growth
to the urban centers of the three-state region covered by
RPA. Lyle Wray described the Fiscal Disparities Law enacted
in Minnesota to address problems associated with using
land use planning and development to encourage revenue
production. Hans-Peter Klein explained the innovative Bal-
anced Land-use Concept, which should contribute in the
Saarland to level out new greenfield developments with
recovering open spaces in areas that have been developed
before and are not needed anymore.
The facilitated discussion opened with a comparison of the
differences between the U.S. and German approaches to
regional planning. Participants identified a significant gap
between planning at the site level and the regional level in
the U.S. Current planning policies in the U.S. seem to favor
consumption of green space, while those in Germany do
not. Other factors that affect growth in the two countries,
such as population change and aging, were noted to have
effects on needs in each country.
Participants noted that the case studies, as well as their
own experiences, have shown successful regional planning
can occur with the right elements. These included strong
enforcement from a municipal or state government, proven
incentives to reduce sprawl, revenue sharing among juris-
dictions, and strong political leadership with stakeholder
involvement.
A number of competing factors were discussed that can
affect the ability of regions to plan for growth, particularly
those in the U.S; however, these factors can impact plan-
ning in both countries. It is a challenge in either country to
effectively value ecosystem services, which can make it dif-
ficult to include them in the planning analysis. Individual
municipalities vary in their population and business section
growth (or shrinkage), and this may impact local leaders'
motivation to participate in voluntary regional planning. In
the U.S., cities make much of their revenue from tax policies
that encourage retail and business development at the
expense of housing and civic amenities. This situation was
described as less of a factor in Germany.
The group identified a number of tools and specific
approaches that can help foster planning at the regional
level in Germany and the U.S. The planning process should
be adjusted to include formalized steps between the indi-
vidual site and the region as a whole. The tax code in the
U.S. could be amended to remove incentives for sprawl and
competition among local municipalities. Along those lines,
it is also necessary to create structures at the regional
and national levels to identify problems and recommend
solutions.
Perhaps one of the largest topics of discussion was how to
inform citizens and other stakeholders about the long-term
benefits and costs of specific planning decisions. In particu-
lar, it is important to measure on-site, off-site, and regional
impacts in a manner that people can understand. This is a
way to assist communities in aligning their perceptions of
growth with regional goals. The discussion focused on the
question how to guide the local and regional discussion
process, before the official planning and approving proce-
dure by the local (or regional) authorities starts. In order to
convince more people, it seems to be advisable to show
great concern for environmental issues, that is, e.g., to pay
some additional money for some ecologic and aesthetic
improvement on the site, in the vicinity of the site or else-
where. From this point of view, the official procedures and
their legal framework don't seem to be the most important
item, once the majority of local and regional decision mak-
ers (and the EPA) has been convinced.
The discussion ended with identification of methods to
transfer ideas and provide next steps.The recurrent theme
through the discussion was how to communicate the ben-
efits of regional planning to the community as a whole. Use
of non-technical language and demonstrated benefits and
costs was suggested as a way to help stakeholders under-
stand the regional planning context. Practitioners from
both countries discussed the importance of clear, plain-lan-
guage communication to increase community involve-
ment. The participants also recommended a test project in
the U.S. to apply the success of a REFINA project in Ger-
many.The best site for such a test would be one with a sim-
ilar context to a project in Germany to allowfor comparison
of the out comes.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Regional Infrastructure and Trans-boundary Management
In the next step team members would like to understand
and document the framework that is guiding decision-
making in Regional Planning. It might be possible for cer-
tain German planning concepts to be replicated in the U.S.
The American Planning Association may be able to provide
concepts that can be replicated in Germany. Another topic
could be to generate common ideas that support political
leadership.
Workshop Atmosphere
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Financial Managemen
Reimund Sch\
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Financial Management
3.1 Financial Management Case Description
US: Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) model
Stan McMillen
Description of the REMI Model
The REMI model is a dynamic, multi-sector, regional model
developed and maintained by Regional Economic Models,
Inc. of Amherst, Massachusetts. This model provides eco-
nomic and fiscal detail on an arbitrary collection of U.S.
counties. The REMI model includes major inter-industry
linkages among 466 private industries, aggregated into 67
major industrial sectors. Including farming and two public
sectors (state and local government, and federal govern-
ment), there are 70 sectors represented in the model (a 169
sector model is also available).
The REMI model is based on a national input-output (I/O)
model that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) devel-
oped and continues to maintain. Such models focus on the
interrelationships among industries and provide informa-
tion about how changes in specific variables affect factor
markets, intermediate goods production, and final goods
production and consumption.
The REMI regional model takes the U.S. I/O "table" results and
scales them according to traditional regional relationships
and current conditions, allowing the relationships to adapt at
reasonable rates to changing conditions. REMI is a structural
model, meaning that it includes cause-and-effect relation-
ships. The model shares two key underlying assumptions with
mainstream economic theory, i.e., households maximize util-
ity and producers maximize profits. In the model, businesses
produce goods to sell to other firms, consumers, investors,
governments and purchasers outside the region. Industry out-
put is produced using labor, capital, fuel, and intermediate
inputs.The demand for labor, capital, and fuel per unit output
depends on their relative costs because an increase in the
price of one of these inputs leads to substitution away from
that input to other inputs. The supply of labor in the model
depends on population size and labor force participation. Eco-
nomic migration affects population size and its growth rate.
People move into an area if the real after-tax wage rates or the
likelihood of being employed increases in a region.
The supply of and demand for labor in the model determine
the real wage rate. The wage rate, along with other prices
and productivity, determine the cost of doing business for
each industry in the model. An increase in the cost of doing
business causes either an increase in price or a cut in prof-
its, depending on the market supplied by local firms. This
market share combined with the demand described above
determines the amount of local output. The model has
other feedbacks. For example, changes in wages and
employment impact income and consumption, while eco-
nomic expansion changes investment and population
growth impacts government spending.
Dashed lines (...)
represent Economic
Geography Linkages
REMl model structure
The Figure above is a pictorial representation of the REMI
model.The Output block shows a factory that sells to all sec-
tors of final demand as well as to other industries. The Labor
and Capital Demand block shows how labor and capital
requirements depend on both output and their relative costs.
Population and Labor Supply contribute to demand and to
wage determination in the product and labor market. The
feedback from this market shows that economic migrants
respond to labor market conditions. Demand and supply
interact in the wage, price, and profit block. Once prices and
profits are established,they determine market shares, which,
along with components of demand, determine output.
What effect would
Policy x have?
Change in policy The
variables associated I REMI
with Policy x I Model
Baseline values far
all policy variables
REMI policy analysis strategy
The second figure illustrates the strategy to obtain a fore-
cast of the results of a shock to the regional economy. The
model contains a baseline (control) forecast of the regional
economy; the shock produces changes that ripple through
the region and beyond producing an alternative forecast.
The effect of the shock is the difference between the two
forecasts.
Additional information can be found at:
http://www.remi.com/
n
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Financial Management
3.2 Financial Management Case Description Germany: Mercantile
Value Reduction: Accounting for Stigma on Contaminated Land in
Germany - Results from REFINA project SINBRA
Reimund Schwarze, Stephan Bartke
Overview
The clean-up and re-use of contaminated land is a risky
endeavor. The clean-up may be incomplete so that some
pollution goes undetected. Some pollutants in the ground
may be unknown at the time of the clean-up process but
surface later on. Areas may be completely clean but yet
suffer a depressed market value because of 'stigma', i.e.
the psychological fear that some negative impact or
remaining cost may appear even though a proper site
clean-up had been conducted. The stigma on contami-
nated land has been widely debated in the United States
but received little scholarly attention in Europe - despite
the fact that accounting for stigma is a legally approved
best practice of appraisal in most European countries. This
paper surveys the German approach for the accounting of
stigma on contaminated land and proposes a risk scoring
method of accounting based on a survey among German
appraisers.
Mercantile Value Reduction -
the German approach to 'stigma'
It is a well-established fact from the sales of contaminated
land as well as other goods (cars and other long-lasting
consumer goods after accident and repair) that a 'stigma'
remains even after all damage had been restored.This pho-
bia to purchase assets with a history of contamination may
be irrational by any prudent standard of evaluation, but it is
a fact of life and a regular feature of the market that
appraisers have to consider in their evaluation of any such
assets.The German building code is utterly clear on this. It
defines the market value of land as "the price that, at the
date of appraisal, can be realized under average market
conditions, taking into account all legal and actual proper-
ties of the land, while discounting any unusual or personal
circumstances of the sale".The German Valuation Guidance
(WertR), referring to this definition, specifies this with
regard to soil contamination in stating that "any negative
impact on soil conditions resulting from previous industrial
use of a land is a relevant factor to be considered as part of
the formal economic appraisal of land" (§5 WertV). Because
stigma is a common feature of this market, it is an actual
property of the land to be considered. The accounting of
stigma therefore should be a standard practice of land
appraisal in Germany. For many reasons this is not the case.
The overwhelming practice of land appraisal in Germany is
in fact to ignore the existence of contamination and any
stigma effects by evaluating the land 'as if clean'while sim-
ply indicating that this value is overstated given the indica-
tion of a history of contamination on the land.
There is much lamenting on this practice of appraisal in
Germany. Several attempts have been made to introduce
new rules and procedures for the appraisal of contami-
nated land-with little impact so far. Many efforts have con-
centrated on the accounting of costs of remediation, includ-
ing the uncertainties involved in estimating these costs.
However, the cost risks due to clean up are only one among
several risks in the sales of contaminated land. Other risks
are: the costs of clearing of land, potential use restrictions,
public and private liabilities, undetected or unknown con-
taminants, the risk of diminished marketability and, specif-
ically, a depreciating 'stigma' on the land.
An important point is that these risks are usually not
insured in Germany. There are very few insurance compa-
nies offering contracts to cover undetected liabilities or for
capping the costs of clean-up. These insurance policies are
hampered by very large transaction costs and high prices.
Less than 10 policies have been sold in less than a decade -
mostly to overseas firms in take-over actions that involved
contaminated land. They are not bought by "normal" buy-
ers or sellers of such properties. As a result all such risks are
considered part of the price established between sellers
and buyers. Usually they are borne by the seller, resulting in
a depreciated value of the asset.
Mercantile Value Reduction -
what and when?
One important step in establishing new practices in land
appraisal is to be very clear on what is meant by these risks
and when they need to be considered.
Uncertain Costs
Upper boundary of costs
Mercantile value
reduction after
complete remeditton
No/ Detailed Authorized Remediation
Historical site remediation completed
investigation investigation concept
Mercantile value reduction
12
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Financial Management
In our approach we distinguish between:
i) Liability risks, stemming from private or public claims,
that may arise from incomplete clean-up, undetected or
unknown contaminants
2) Usability risks related to potential use restrictions on the
land
3) Cost risks associated with remediation and the clearing
of the land
4) Stigma, understood to be the phobia or irrational fear of
negative impacts or remaining costs after a proper site
clean-up has been conducted.
Mercantile Value Reduction (MVR) is the sum of any of
these perceived risks after remediation, i.e., after all legal
stipulations for remediation are fulfilled. MVR is a rational
phenomenon, as it is the economic equivalent of these per-
ceived risks. Commonly, the MVR is larger than psychologi-
cal stigma. But as risks in our view are decreasing during
the remediation process (indicated as sequence of the
remediation process on the time arrow), the perceived
stigma at an early stage of revitalisation planning can be
larger than the sum of perceived uncertainties after clean
up (MVR).
Risk Scoring
Mercantile Value
Reduction
Adjusted
MVR
Risk scoring methodology for Mercantile Value Reduction
The suggested risk scoring methodology for MVR consists
of four steps (see figure):
a) Definition of MVR
b) Scoring of local MVR risks (L-MVRR), considering factors
such as:
traceability of the area of (supposed) contamination
relative area of (supposed) contamination
(> 15% of total site)
confirmed groundwater contamination
visible safety measures on site (security fences,
barriers, etc.)
public authorities stated clean-up demand
devotion of the site to private residential use
adjacency of the site to a residential
neighbourhood
media reporting on the site's contamination issues.
c) Consideration of planning stage associated risks (PR)
d) Consideration of mitigating market conditions (MMC).
These steps result in an appraisal of adjusted MVR for the
local property.
This scoring scheme is supposed to be in line with standard-
ized appraisal procedures and methods used in Germany,
and, in addition, could add to existing risk measurement
methods of bank and insurance companies.The risk evalua-
tion method is also to be incorporated into the site-ori-
ented integrated management system for decision support
of the SINBRA project (www.sinbra.de).
Survey basis and results
Currently the risk scoring is based on the results of a ques-
tionnaire survey among 90 professional appraisers in Ger-
many. The group was randomly selected from the appraiser's
organisation in Germany and asked about the size and fac-
tors of MVR. On average, respondents in our survey had
work experience of 15 years and dealt with 80 cases annu-
ally; only 65% of the group was experienced in appraising
contaminated land. Key findings were: MVR lies between
5% - 30%, with the median MVR being assessed at 10% of
the market value. MVR degressively declines over a period
of 10 years. A majority (61%) of the respondents stated that
MVR strongly depends on market conditions. Mercantile
Value Reductions, according to this survey, can be elimi-
nated by strong market demand.
This survey data will be validated and re-calibrated with
market data from Brandenburgische Boden GmbH-an East
German property conversion company - in a repeat of our
study.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Financial Management
3.3 Financial Management: Discussion and Conclusions
Peter Meyer, Ann Vega
Under the Financial Management theme, Reimund
Schwarze (Germany) gave a presentation on "Mercantile
Value Reduction: Accounting for Stigma on Contaminated
Land in Germany." Professor Schwarze gave an overview
of the REFINA project (SINBRA), presented definitions of
mercantile value reduction on stigma, discussed German
standardized appraisal methods, and demonstrated the
process of risk scoring for mercantile value reduction.
Stan McMillen (U.S.) gave a presentation on REMI, a
regional economic model from Regional Economic Mod-
els, Inc. REMI is a dynamic, multi-sector, regional model. It
is a structural model based on the circular flows of goods
& services and labor & capital.
Because the majority of workshop participants were not
economists, we decided that a smaller group meeting was
needed to discuss the information presented in addition to
the new German Municipal Accounting Approach (NKF)
and its associated implications. Stefan Thiel gave an
overview of a project on which he is working regarding the
NKF. The overview focused on:
the development of an accounting structure suitable
for quantification and controlling of the "real costs" of
municipal products and services, to provide the sustain-
ing holistic-economical basis for municipal planning
decisions
Internalization of costs of land-recycling and site devel-
opment by identification and listing of development and
ancillary costs (e.g. loan-interests during construction) as
investment costs in the municipal balance
"real costs": making gross-economical disadvantages of
sprawl visible and showing advantages of town-core
development
The small group of economists met and summarized the
primary financial management issues of regional planning
into three main points:
i. Ownership and long-term stewardship. Financial man-
agement of regional areas is impacted by clean-up stan-
dards and land ownership. Ownership of the land
changes over time, and any remediation or mitigation
that is done to allow redevelopment (and/or remove
stigma) needs to be considered over the long term to
make sure the land use remains protective of human
health. Free-hold vs. lease-hold controls also can impact
the financial aspects of a project.These issues need to be
considered and somehow included as factors in any eco-
nomic development method/procedure/model used.
2. Accounting for - and controlling - stigma. One sugges-
tion was to ensure that more accurate and complete case
data are collected. There is a need to create tools for
measuring stigma and for resolving disagreements
between and among stakeholders.
3. Accounting for and controlling uncertainty as a barrier to
financing. There is a need to distinguish between differ-
ent financing sources and their variable attitudes toward
uncertainty. Perception differences of local vs. non-local
financing also need to be considered.
At the end of the discussion the Financial Management
team members suggested that a collaborative workshop
for economists on accounting/uncertainty/stigma would
be beneficial and something to pursue. Potential invited
guests would include a member of the U.S. Appraisal Insti-
tute and the German Appraisal Association. A working title
is: Precautionary Principle and Cleanup Standards: Address-
ing Uncertainty in Pursuit of Sustainability.
Discussion
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! ^ -
Doug MacCourt
Rebekka Center
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
4.1 Brownscape Design Case Description Germany/U.S.:
Coalmine Westerholt, Germany and Northwest Aluminum,
The Dalles, Oregon, U.S.
Rebekka Gessler, Matthias Lampert, Doug MacCourt
Introduction
The research project titled 'Development of analytical and
methodological repertoires to reintegrate Brownfield sites
into functional urban areas modeled on examples in Ger-
many and the USA' at the chair of Prof. Peter Latz at the
Technical University of Munich is part of an international
cooperation between the German Federal Ministry of Edu-
cation and Research (BMBF) and EPA through the US-Ger-
man Bilateral Working Group. "Brownscape Design - Inno-
vative Configuration of Living Environments" is one of the
primary topics of the Bilateral Working Group.
Funding for the research project comes from the German
REFINA-program "Research for the reduction of land con-
sumption and for sustainable land management" and con-
tributions from RAG Montan Immobilien GmbH, Northwest
Aluminum (MAC), Ater Wynne LLPand EPA.
Goal and structure of the project
The goal of the research project is the formulation of an analy-
sis and methods repertoire to re-integrate Brownfield sites
into functional urban areas. The intention is to avoid the con-
sumption of area on the green site, while also avoiding the fall
of the region into a phase of depression - in both cases by new
interpretation of these landscapes. Therefore, it is essential to
develop transferable planning methods and tools on a scien-
tific level, to describe, simulate, and evaluate them.
The hypotheses of the research project are analyzed in
redundant and induced procedures.Therefore, the research
project is divided into three blocks. Blocks one and two, sum-
marized below, address the selected study cases:
Germany:The coal mine in Westerholt
America:The Northwest Aluminum Smelter, in The Dalles,
Oregon.
The results of the two case studies are documented in interim
reports. The results of the interim reports are incorporated
into a third block. They will be subjected to a systematic
abstraction and compiled into a manual. This process will be
accompanied by a symposium and will be completed in 2009.
In the following paragraphs the focus will be on the Design
Charrette - a main component of the two case studies.
Main hypotheses
The work on the two case studies is guided by the following
hypotheses:
"The follow-up use of Brownfield sites can be favorably
influenced by qualified design arrived at - by collaboration
and participation".
To avoid negative effects it is wise "to start developing
qualified design and alternative uses as soon as possible,
preferably before the sites are closed down."
"The re-use and reinterpretation of identity-defining
structures is possible and desirable."
"Establishing interim phases avoids negative effects."
"The intermediate phases take on their own character
and do not necessarily form an integral part of the final
product".
Design Charrette -
center of the two case studies
The cornerstones of the chosen method are public partici-
pation and design.This is why in both study cases, coalmine
Westerholt and Northwest Aluminum, a design Charrette
was carried out.
A "Charrette" is an abridged planning process used to solve
complex aspects of urban development assignments and
involving a strong participatory element. A design Char-
rette is characterized by:
Close contextual and spatial rapport
Participation of all stakeholders and the public
Collaboration between interest groups and planners
Identification -this collaboration makes a project,
the people's project
Interdisciplinary teamwork
Short time span.
h
«1 fty |i*v * tntwn a
Structure of the Design Charrette as developed by the research team
16
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
. yu.t tht>*« coil-mint W*i
at.
- introducing cotfrw with pfM«o1ivon of Itii lltrniti
iQMMIO' plTTI ItlfM
Ularnal Jury
Structure of the Design Charrette
The Design Charrette consists of two parallel workshops
with different tasks and different methods of operation:
The 'Round Table' and the Design Workshop.The functional
separation, developed by the research team, ensured that
each workshop was able to proceed according to its own
particular professional techniques. These techniques are
comparable to the different "languages"that 'Round Table'
participants and designers normally use.
i. 'Round Table'
The 'Round Table', comprising the owner, representatives of
the city concerned, and local citizens, proceeds to develop
programmatic concepts.
2. Design Workshop
The Design Workshop is made up of planners from various
professions. The interdisciplinary teams draw up their own
spatial concepts. Ideas and programs put forward at the
'Round Table' are immediately implemented and incorpo-
rated into these spatial concepts at the Design Workshop.
The resultant spatial consequences are made visible, so
that they can be evaluated and discussed. A series of feed-
back loops between the 'Round Table'and the design teams
are structured to allow information to flow in an iterative
process. Any required corrections to the drawings are car-
ried out immediately.
3. Moderator
The moderator mediates between the two workshops, guid-
ing communicative processes between the 'Round Table'
and the Design Teams, which plays a substantial part in
improving the workflow. The moderator fulfills a function
like a translator by operationalizing the intermediate
results for the respective other workshop.
4. Jury
The results of the work executed by the 'Round Table' and
the Design Workshop are publicly assessed by a jury. The
jury consists of professionals, representatives of the public,
the administration, and the owner.
The aim of the assessment procedure is to acquire a num-
ber of alternative action concepts, which explains why no
scores are awarded. The utilization programs and design
concepts are critically assessed and accompanied by a
description and evaluation of their respective qualities,
after which they will be passed on to future interested par-
ties (property owners and town councils) as a basis for
negotiations.
Flow Chart with feedback loops between the 'round table'
and the design teams via the moderator
17
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
Case Description Coalmine Westerholt,
Germany
Coalmine Westerholt
Location: The coal-mine Westerholt is located in the Ruhr
district. The site is based on the territory of two cities:
Herten and Gelsenkirchen.
Short description of the site: The coal-mine Westerholt is
especially appropriate for the research project as its shut-
down was scheduled for the year 2010 and is therefore still
outstanding. That means that identity causing structures
and elements like the turnaround cycle and the hauling
shafts are completely existent.
The aerial photograph shows the surface installation of the coal-mine
Westerholt
Preparation Design Charrette Westerholt
"Don't start the Design Charrette with a white paper."- For
the quality of the discussions and results of the Design
Charrette, it is beneficial to provide a set of pre-structured
information. Therefore, general alternatives and con-
straints were developed based on the site survey.
homing, open public ipnc*
ComnwcJBI. and gnMn
Jlcrnalivn II . \
General alternatives to combine
18
i. General alternatives
Prior to the design Charrette the research group drew up
between three and five different spatial alternatives for
each of the parameters of relevance to the planning:
Retention and conversion
Construction areas
Housing, services and manufacturing industry
Integration through public open spaces and strips of greenery
Accessibility.
Criteria for the description and evaluation of the design
alternatives were also developed in this process. The
design-alternatives are to be freely connected between the
parameters, thus creating many possible combinations.
2. Constraints
The amount of possible combinations is narrowed by con-
straints such as the quality of the existing building struc-
tures and contaminations. The constraints were primarily
provided by the cooperation partners, the experts from var-
ious studios. In the case of the coal-mine Westerholt, the
main constraint derives from the contamination by the for-
mer coking plant on the site.
Results - Design Charrette Westerholt
For the future of this site, utilization programs and spatial con-
cepts were generated, aligned with the stakeholders, and
assessed by the jury in public. They were documented in a
booklet with a description and evaluation of their respective
qualities. The booklet is available online to all participants in
the process.
Public jury presentation
One major achievement of the Design-Charrette in Wester-
holt was the decision of both municipalities - Herten and
Gelsenkirchen - to jointly develop the site that stretches
from one city to the other. Thus, the site was recognized
early on as a major planning task. In the case of Westerholt,
the simulation conducted at the Design-Charrette evolved
to be the basis for the actual planning process - with the
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
special background of the planned closure of this site by
end of 2008 instead of 2010.
Case Description Northwest Aluminum,
The Dalles, Oregon, U.S.
One goal of this case study is developing a comparative
understanding between the U.S. and Germany of the
methodological process or "repertoire" of Brownscape
design on large-scale industrial sites.
DougMacCourt of Ater Wynne LLPand members of the US-
German Bilateral Working Group presented the results of
the US component of the multidisciplinary research project
conducted by the research group of Prof. Peter Latz at the
Technische Universitat Mtinchen (TUM).TheTUM research
group and Verle Hansen of EPA contributed to the presenta-
tion and were integral to the U.S. project.
Northwest Aluminum
Northwest Aluminum: View to the site from the residential area
The Design Charrette and planning processes are taking
place at a 300+ acre primary aluminum smelter in The
Dalles, Oregon during demolition of the former federal
Superfund site. The purpose and focus of the 5-day Char-
rette in April 2008 was the development of well-founded
design solutions for the reuse and reinterpretation of the
Northwest Aluminum smelter site and buildings.The alter-
native solutions were kept in discussion with all their con-
ditions, constraints, consequences, and advantages.
Pre-Charrette Site Activities
German design professionals and staff from the Technical
University of Munich worked with MAC management and
staff, and state and local agency stakeholders in October,
2007 to complete a detailed survey of the site, and to con-
duct research on environmental, economic, social, and plan-
ning characteristics of the location and region. The pro-
found examination of the site is especially important to
develop re-use options for the preservation of existing
structures as a sustainability concept that includes environ-
mental, social, and economic benefits. After the survey,
alternative use options, including the potential develop-
ment of interim stages, were identified and assessed, simi-
lar to the German process for the Westerholt site.
View into the production halls
Silos of the Northwest Aluminum site seen from rooftop
Detailed site survey - it is essential for the re-use and the preservation of
the existing structure
19
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
Participants Charrette Northwest Aluminum,
The Dalles, Oregon, U.S.
i. 'Round Table'
The 'Round Table'consisted of representatives of the City of
The Dalles, Northwest Aluminum Company, Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Economical
and Community Development Department, Port of the
Dalles, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Lockheed
Martin Corporation, and citizens of The Dalles.
2. Design teams
During the Charrette, collaboration of design professionals,
students from the University of Oregon Landscape Archi-
tecture, and Architecture programs (graduate and under-
graduate) TUM staff and other professionals refined design
concepts and illustrations.
Charrette outcome and Products
The first meeting of the 'Round Table' identified the basic
goals of the owner and stakeholders (e.g., meeting cleanup
standards, achieving Oregon Economic Community Devel-
opment Department (OECDD) Industrial Certification, inte-
grating the site into local and regional planning efforts).
The 'Round Table' identified key issues such as public per-
ceptions of the site, environmental factors, job creation tar-
gets for the location (approximately 6 jobs per acre), regu-
latory and land use issues.
The conclusions of the 'Round Table'were broken into three
main topics that emerged from the weeklong process:
i. Key factors in achieving economic viability through select
designs and planning concepts,
2. Creating a new image of the town through site redevel-
opment due to strategic location of the project, and
3. Creating and enhancing access to and from the site and
access to the town and the Columbia River bordering the
site.
Innovative factors to achieve economic viability included
maximizing "employment-based" land that includes indus-
trial (and business) use with other non-employment uses,
improving the efficiency of land use and energy consump-
tion to attract light industry investors, a people-friendly lay-
out to attract higher values, diversification of businesses
types, jobs, and reemployment for the people from the
community, and variability and flexibility in business
spaces.
Each of the four Design Teams similarly reflected a valued
grandeur of the aluminum smelter works relative to its phys-
ical size. Although the character of these buildings is largely
lost in the proposals, each reflected various features of these
structures that acknowledged their role in the cultural her-
itage of the community and the hundreds of workers who
labored here for a half-century. Proposals revealed different
redevelopment approaches and phasing that were often
guided by differing philosophies and design concepts, and
importance given to environment, economic development,
and social values.
Programs and Design Concepts that emerged from the Char-
rette process to promote a new image for The Dalles included
an acknowledgement that the largest industrial site in the
region plays a key role in the town's image, that the vision
from the state's only major east-west interstate freeway, and
from the adjacent community (where the site could be seen
from virtually every vantage point) is essential for commu-
nity support and acceptance. Notions of industrial history
and the image of the site as an icon of the industrial past
were very strong in design themes. Access became a key com-
ponent. The results showed that any design should tie the
site to the town centre, but also allow the town to be more
attractively connected to the adjacent Columbia River. Con-
siderations for multi-modal transportation were also strong,
including more efficient road access and pedestrian and bicy-
cle facilities tying to the nearby river trail.
An interesting and unanticipated result emerged during
the presentation of the Design Charrette Northwest Alu-
minum at the Bilateral Meeting in New York: it was the high
degree of interaction generated by the professional quality
design concepts, illustrations and research presentations.
The effect of the presentation illustrates the value of multi-
disciplinary, international exchanges on projects such as
this where Brownfield professionals can build on the con-
cepts and methods developed by professionals from varied
disciplines.The results of the U.S. Charrette are being docu-
mented in a brochure.
20
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
4.2 Brownscape Design Case Description U.S.:
Breckenridge, Colorado, U.S.
Victor Ketellapper
Introduction
Historically, in the western United States, mineral mining
has been a temporary use of the land. After the economi-
cally recoverable minerals had been removed, mines were
abandoned, negatively impacting the characteristics of
their surrounding property and environmental systems
well beyond their location. These changes in the property
included waste-rock piles, mineral-recovery processing
wastes, and continuous discharges of acidic metal-laden
water, known as acid-mine drainage. They often result in
adverse environmental or human-health impacts.
zinc-lead-silver ores, as well as some gold ores. Under-
ground mining left numerous shafts, adits, waste rock, and
tailings throughout the Gulch.
Victor Ketellapper
The cleanup of environmental problems at abandoned
mine sites is a multifaceted combination of technical,
financial, and liability challenges. Without successfully
addressing every issue, cleanup moves very slowly, if at all.
This is certainly true at the French Gulch site, a century-old
metals-mining district, located just outside Breckenridge,
Colorado: the mine owners and operators either no longer
exist or have limited resources, and those wishing to help
voluntarily fix the problem have been scared off by laws
that would hold them responsible if the cleanup were
insufficient or cleanup standards changed.
Extensive placer and underground lode mining occurred in
French Gulch from the late 18505 to the 19605. Placer-gold
mining began in French Gulch in 1859 with small gravity-
separation operations; the dredging operations that fol-
lowed continued until the 19405. The dredging operations
resulted in forty to fifty foot high piles and ridges of cobbles
and gravel-size placer tailings throughout the valley floor,
destroying the natural aquatic habitat. Underground lode
mining began in 1889 and continued through the 19605.
The underground mines typically produced high-grade
S ' ' &£8Silv
;
,f-i?
Acid-mine drainage with dredge rock piles in background
The impacts from the abandoned mining in French Creek
were sufficiently significant that EPA was considering the
site to be included in the Superfund Program in the early
19905. However, local government officials resisted this due
to their concern over the effect of EPA Superfund involve-
ment would have on their community and tourist economy.
A community-based approach was proposed by EPA to
resolve these issues. This lead to the formation of the
French Gulch Remedial Opportunities Group, a stakehold-
ers group formed to develop plans to address mining
related environmental impacts within French Gulch.
Through meetings of the French Gulch Remedial Opportu-
nities Group, a common vision for French Gulch was devel-
oped that established goals for addressing environmental
issues associated with historic mining, protecting lands for
open space, and affordable housing. This group also came
21
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
to an understanding that these goals were interrelated and
must be addressed simultaneously. This common vision
provided a foundation for a unique multiparty settlement
addressing the situation at the French Gulch site that
defined environmental liability, provided funding for mine
reclamation projects, and allowed the purchase of aban-
doned mines and adjacent properties for open space, out-
door recreation, habitat preservation, historical preserva-
tion, and affordable housing.
Brownscape Design Process
In 2007, the EPA, the Town of Breckenridge, and Summit
County initiated a new Brownscape design process for the
neighborhood and its immediate environment, utilizingthe
landscape architectural services of the Project for Reclama-
tion Excellence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy (MIT).The goal of this process was to prepare a concept
plan that would integrate mine reclamation, expansion of
aquatic habitats for threatened species, integration of the
recreational use plan, integration with the affordable hous-
ing community, and preservation of historic mining arti-
facts. The Brownscape Design Process consisted of three
planning meetings.
Prior to the first meeting, a stakeholder assessment was
conducted to identify those individuals who would be
invited into the planning process. The result of the stake-
holder assessment was the identification of influential indi-
viduals in the community who were concerned about the
future of French Gulch. Those invited to participate in the
planning process represented a broad range of perspec-
tives, including representatives of local government and
citizens who live in French Gulch.
The first meeting was held in July, 2007. The focus of this
meeting was to hear from the various stakeholders and
develop an understanding of their "wishes" for French
Gulch. At the beginning of the meeting, the group was pre-
sented with a summary of the current condition of French
Gulch and an overview of the planning process. The bulk of
the meeting was a facilitated discussion concerning the
future of French Gulch.
Based on input from the first meeting, the design team
developed several concepts for landscape design elements
that integrated environmental restoration considerations.
Digital simulations were prepared of each of the concepts
and presented to the stakeholders group in August, 2007.
This was followed by a facilitated discussion critiquing the
design elements.
The discussions from the second meeting were used to
develop a conceptual design. This was presented to the
stakeholders group in November 2007. During this meet-
ing, it was determined to proceed with developing a design
for a portion of French Gulch. However, prior to proceeding
with this design, data were needed. The data needs
included preparing a site topographic map, collecting sedi-
ment samples to evaluate metals contamination levels, and
identifying site constraints. These data are planned to be
collected in 2008. The design and construction of this work
are planned to be completed in 2009.
Example of a Conceptual Design for site shown above
22
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
4.3 Brownscape Design: Discussion and Conclusion
Victor Ketellapper
Introduction
A new understanding is emerging of the processes and fac-
tors that produce successful Brownfield redevelopment
projects - projects that reflect the spirit of past and present,
that capture the imagination and challenge design and aes-
thetic norms to produce new visions of "community" and
"place." At Brownfields 2003 in Portland, Oregon, the con-
cept of "Brownscape Design" was introduced to describe the
phenomenon of world-class art and architecture integrated
into the functional aspects of Brownfield redevelopment. In
both the United States and Germany, Brownscape Design
concepts are emerging that integrate functional redevelop-
ments in existing,former industrial structures.
In this session, approaches to Brownscape Design in the U.S.
and Germany were discussed. First, representatives of an
international collaboration hosted by Munich Technical
University discussed their approach to Brownscape Design.
Central aim was the preservation and reuse of the existing
structures, not only for asthetic or historic, but also for
social, economic, and ecological reasons. Study cases were
two privately-held, heavy industrial sites at the Westerholt
Coal Mine in Germany and at The Dalles Northwest Alu-
minum Company site located in Oregon. A U.S. approach to
Brownscape Design was then presented that featured
MIT's approach to integrating landscape design with aban-
doned mine site cleanup at the French Gulch Site.Through-
out these presentations, different stakeholder outreach
approaches and design tools were discussed.
The Brownscape Design Process
The processes presented in the case studies concluded with
non-binding recommendations to be used by local govern-
ment, owners, and/or developers for integrated reuse and
redevelopment solutions that include environmental
cleanup.These solutions were obtained through facilitated
discussions involving various stakeholders including mem-
bers of the community, landowners, government officials,
and technical experts.
The processes began with a pre-vision or starting point to
begin discussions. The vision was then modified through
preferences and concerns raised by the discussions. Attempts
were then made to present the ideas through visual tools
such as sketches and computer generated simulations that
assisted in further evaluation of the site solutions.
After completion of the stakeholder involvement process,
the ideas are to be summarized in a master plan document
or in alternative drafts that can be used as a reference for
site planning and to assist in gaining governmental
approval.
For this process to be successful, the following should be
considered:
i. Attempt to involve all perspectives and stakeholders.
2. Include technical experts to assure vision is realistic.
3. Discuss the group's role at the beginning of the process.
Is it an advisory group or decision making?
4.Provide a welcoming atmosphere including providing
snacks and meals.
Case Studies
Discussion held after the presentation of the case studies
are summarized by the following concepts:
i. A high level of community involvement in the planning
stages of a project is essential for providing the back-
ground for community and government support of the
project.
2. Discussion must be held in the context of local
economies and population demographics. For instance,
both the Westerholt and The Dalles communities were
redefining their economies where major employers had
left or were in the process of leaving. The Breckenridge
community, however, had successfully transitioned from
a historic mining community to a tourist economy and
was focused on enhancing its tourist appeal.
3. In the U.S., development is generally championed by pri-
vate developers, while in Germany, the efforts of private
and public developers are largely influenced by state,fed-
eral, and European programs with their respective fund-
ing requirements.
4. In both countries, involving the community is legally obli-
gated. However, this is not always taken seriously by deci-
sion makers.
Tools
The research completed from these case studies found that
the following tools should be considered for implementing
a successful Brownscape Design process:
i. Obtain input of technical experts for the issues posed by
the site including environmental issues and cleanup
approaches, landscape designers, urban planners, and
architects to make sure that concepts are compatible and
implementable.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Brownscape Design
2. Hire a facilitator or moderator to manage the discussions.
One potential source of facilitators is the National Char-
rette Institute (www.charretteinsitute.org).
3. Hold design competitions.
4. Perform public outreach/education - involve the public.
If the Brownscape Design team members would repeat the
charrette process, then suggestions to improve the process
are:
Broaden stakeholder participation in the decision process
Develop proper sequencing of events (use a phased
approach) by identifying factors that influence the
sequence
Communicate more openly about how the site will be
cleaned up
Be more open to making changes during the charrette
process.
Next Steps
In classic functional planning, design is developed to meet
user requirements. By contrast, in brownscape design, new
uses are invented for existing structures. Munich Technical
University will be preparing a report that compares and
contrasts the two brownscape design case studies they
conducted. The goal of this report is to propose a model
process for the reuse of Brownfield sites.
EPA and MIT will be preparing a booklet and concept plan
with the purpose of providing a tool for integrating open
space planning and landscape design into the development
of abandoned mine sites including a process for the appli-
cation of ecological design and redevelopment that can be
more effectively integrated with environmental cleanup
activities.
Discussion
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for Site Prioritizatio
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
5.1 Cross Cutting Case Description US: Niagara Region
Tom DeSantis
Introduction
Since its inception in 2000, the Niagara Region Brownfields
Coalition has worked towards revitalization of contami-
nated land within the Niagara Region and along its water-
fronts through partnerships with local governments, busi-
ness owners, and educational institutions. Revisioning
Brownfields: A Regional Strategic Approach ("the Plan") is a
strategy developed for the two-county region along the
Niagara River in Western New York.This plan was designed
to help these communities understand how their brown-
fields can present new opportunities and meet local needs,
providing a policy and practice framework from which
brownfield redevelopment projects should be approached.
In the Niagara Region presentation, the Plan's "prioritiza-
tion tool" for selecting brownfields and prioritizing action
was described in general along with a more detailed
overview of the City's role in moving regionally significant
projects as part of a multi-faceted local revitalization
agenda.
The Prioritization Process
The prioritization process provides policy makers with guid-
ance on regional priorities for funding, incentives, or other
program policies in the following five steps: Step i: Compile
List of Potential Sites; Step 2: Consider Economic, Social and
Geographic Aspects; Step 3: Rank and Prioritize; Step 4: Per-
form Financial Feasibility Analysis: and Step 5: Develop
Design Concepts.These are summarized below.
Understanding which sites are most appropriate, which
land uses should be encouraged and how public sector
resources should be expended to promote redevelopment,
can generate public debate. The intent of the presentation
was to provide clarity in understanding how Niagara
Region went about determining which sites are prime for
redevelopment and which need time or alternative strate-
gies before redevelopment. The prioritization process
begins by compiling a preliminary list of appropriate sites,
then analyzing each with a financial feasibility model.
When prioritization is complete, site concept plans can, in
some instances, be developed to stimulate potential private
sector interest.
The Steps
The first step in this process is to compile a list of potential
redevelopment sites. Once an initial list has been devel-
oped, the sites need to be examined from a "planning and
community factors" perspective. The goal of this exercise is
to understand how sites fit into the region economically,
socially, and geographically. Many of the calculations dis-
cussed below are carried out automatically by the "Brown-
fields Prioritization Tool." While the tool was created specif-
ically for Western New York (WNY) conditions, it is an Excel
spreadsheet that could be modified to work elsewhere.
After data are run through the model, brownfields are
divided into three groupings (high, medium and low priori-
ties) based on scores for characteristics in three broad cate-
gories: planning and land use, infrastructure/physical, and
economic. In addition, low-income communities often bear
the burden of pollution and contaminated sites, and to
address this issue, a simple method was developed for cal-
culating whether a brownfield is located in a low-income
area based on a typical standard of 80% of the county's
median-income. As with other aspects of the prioritization
tool, the calculations are undertaken automatically within
the spreadsheet as data are entered.
Totaling the scores from the three sections-Planning and
Land Use, Infrastructure, and Economics-provides a ranking
of sites, which can be further categorized as necessary.
Typically, redevelopment efforts should be focused on the
highest-ranked sites. This rating system provides an initial
look at sites with the intent to prioritize sites for re-devel-
opment. Further analysis is then applied to ranked sites
using the companion financial model developed to evalu-
ate if a site's preferred or desired redevelopment is finan-
cially feasible. Financial evaluation is important because it
allows municipalities to view properties in terms of their
desirability to potential investors. With this perspective,
decision makers can also determine if additional resources
are needed to better position a property for re-investment.
Faced with the reality of the costs and benefits of rehabili-
tation, parcels that rose to the top during the Ranking and
Prioritizing may prove to be too contaminated or too
encumbered to be "profitably redeveloped" in the short
term or given current market conditions. These types of
sites or areas may simply require more time and/or more
public investment.This knowledge allows for consideration
of timing and alternatives to re-development.
This process should typically lead local agencies to develop
and test "concept plans" as an important step in realizing
redevelopment / reuse potential. Concept plans are best
developed through a community-based process where var-
ious community interests come together to create alterna-
tive concepts for redevelopment. This generates ideas, as
well as establishes a dialog that becomes important for
26
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
building consensus for any potential re-development. It
also establishes the municipality's long-term intentions
and commitment to a site or area. Community input and
concept plan development allows one to evaluate the desir-
ability of a particular proposal, which together with the
financial modeling allows one to evaluate the quality of an
investment based on key variables including holding costs,
purchase and resale price, the time value of money, as well
as rental properties with cash flow and vacant properties
with no rental income, or multiple end uses for a site. It is a
methodology that allows multiple actors to evaluate many
sites over several municipalities using a verifiable measure
that brings clarity as to how the public sector might con-
tribute its resources in bringing which sites back into the
marketplace for what purpose.
Summary
The Niagara Region's Brownfield Prioritization Tool has
proven useful. It is grounded within the community-plan-
ning framework locally and it has proven itself helpful in
focusing public action in pursuit of priority opportunities.
However, the tool does not evaluate ecological values
related to a site or area nor does it help in dealing with the
"non-priority" sites that are unlikely to see investment or
public attention for a very long time.
Praxair Site Oblique
Tract lla
27
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
5.2 Cross Cutting Case Description US: Stella, Missouri
Verle Hansen
Site Priorities Depend upon
Desired Outcomes
Land subject to remediation is usually considered relative to
its availability and its potential financial return-on-invest-
ment. Typically, these short-term considerations are unre-
lated to the long-term conditional relationships that exist
between humanity and a sustainable environment. Devel-
opment that is intended to meet immediate human and
economic needs typically overrides environmental consider-
ations. Because all development of the built environment
will incrementally and cumulatively consume the finite nat-
ural environment,this is not sustainable. Any long-term con-
sideration of an environment that will sustain human life
will require that site-selection, land-use, and the natural
environment be considered concurrently with economic and
social development. Although site-selection and land-use to
meet short-term economic and long-term social and envi-
ronmental objectives appear to contradict each other, this
presentation illustrates that they are compatible.
A Sustainability Basis for Conferring
Priority to Sites
We expect that without humanity, natural systems would
continue to evolve along natural trajectories and would be
sustainable.This premise allows us to hypothesize that natu-
ral systems also will be sustainable with humanity, if the
essential attributes of these systems remain intact. If this
hypothesis is true, it is possible to use these essential attrib-
utes as prerequisite conditions for development of the built
environment. Because natural systems are at risk when social
and economic systems are compromised, it is also necessary
to establish the essential attributes of intact social and eco-
nomic systems. The test of this hypothesis is accomplished by
compiling a list of these essential attributes, applying them to
different sites, and measuring whether these systems are as
or more robust after development to meet human objectives
as they were before.
The tool that is used to meet objectives within conditions is the
planning process. Typically any project to develop the built
environment must meet various human objectives within sev-
eral sets of conditions, e.g., zoning codes, building codes, fire
regulations, owner requirements, user requirements, available
materials, properties and strength of materials, laws of ther-
modynamics, Newton's laws of physics, etc. No one asks
whether these conditions must be met, but how to meet them.
Three sets of conditions, equally important to the above listed
conditions, are intact natural, social, and economic systems and
should be used to define the physical forms of our agricultural
and urban environments. When these conditions are properly
used, the resulting socio-physical environment should equi-
tably and efficiently meet human needs, while assuring that
ecosystems will retain the ability to sustain human life.
Land subject to remediation plays an important role in
this strategy. Development or re-development of any site
will incrementally and cumulative take something from
natural systems. Land that is no longer needed to support
human needs will take something from the economic and
social systems, and could further erode natural systems or
improve them. If these land-use decisions are to be sus-
tainable, they must be made within the context of the
natural, social, and economic systems they affect. Such
consideration is possible within the strategy described
above. Because the potentials of all sites differ with
respect to their ability to contribute or degrade these sys-
tems, priority could be given to sites relative to the impor-
tance of their desired systemic effects. However, as with
all prerequisite conditions of development, none are
negotiable, and systems must be as or more robust after
land-use decisions are applied as they were before. Such
considerations do not define or preclude land uses; they
merely establish the conditions that must be met when
land-use decisions are being made so that economic,
social, and environmental systems retain the ability to
sustain each other.
Prioritizing Sites to Meet A Collective Goal
Every site is related to other sites within local, regional, land-
scape, continental, and global contexts. It is possible, there-
fore, to give priority to these sites within these larger con-
texts; and it is not possible to achieve many objectives, e.g.,
sustainability, without this consideration. Consideration of
these broader contexts and an attempt to prove the above
concept lead to creation of a master plan for the village of
Stella, Missouri, USA. Citizens supplied a list of community
needs and described their values.The challenge was to plan
a community that would meet those needs and values
within the conditions of intact social, economic, and ecolog-
ical systems as described above. The proof that this strategy
works is subject to comparison of ecological, social, and eco-
nomic systems before and after development. Although the
plan is being implemented by citizens of Stella and will take
time to realize, preliminary lessons learned in the applica-
tion of this strategy are important. First, sustainability is an
objective that must be strived for, but it also must be
achieved every day for existing conditions. Second, sustain-
ability is largely achieved by building community, i.e., facili-
tating interactions between people so that citizens are
28
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
aware of local needs and opportunities. Third, although no
place can exist without providing opportunity to make a liv-
ing, to be sustainable it must provide a place that inspires
the human spirit and persuadesthem to stay when opportu-
nities are presented elsewhere. Fourth, the measures of sus-
tainability are the community's ability to meet its needs,
endure over time, and evolve in place. Fifth, although sites
are developed individually, their effects on systems extend
well beyond sites. If we expect systems to remain intact,
then sites must be used in concert with other sites.
Benefits of Prioritizing Sites within
A Systems Perspective
This planning strategy attempts to align the economic and
social development of a community with the natural systems
that sustain it; and in the process fulfills three necessary goals.
i. It protects the environment by accounting for impacts of
development before they occur, and in doing so, elimi-
nates the decades and associated costs required for
cleanup and restoration.
2. It establishes a harmonious relationship between human-
ity and the environment while providing a laboratory for
study of this relationship.
3. It enables us to intentionally plan to meet human needs
and economic expansion while retaining the natural
environment's ability to sustain both.
Sustainability Criteria
If the ability to sustain human life is dependent upon intact
natural systems that remain on their natural trajectories,
then they must retain the ability to self manage. Intact nat-
ural systems, i.e., ecosystem integrity, exists when produc-
tivity, biodiversity, soils, and water remain in near-natural
conditions (Forman 1995). Because humanity is also natural,
it is included in this equation as long as natural structures
and processes remain sufficiently intact to sustain human
life. The following essential attributes of natural systems
are our current best estimate that will keep natural sys-
tems intact. Because intact natural systems are related to
intact social and economic systems,these criteria should be
the basis for land-use decisions and evaluation.
Seh^PevdopmmtArea
approx. 28 acres
II Part m f
Stella Attractive Core Area
Stella Masterplan
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
Environmental
Condition
Productivity
Biodiversity
Soils
Water
Air
Atmosphere
No.
i
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
n
12
13
H
15
16
17
Table i - Criteria for Sustainable Ecological Systems
Essential Attribute of Intact Ecological Systems
Native plant communities predominate
Natural disturbance regimes exist.
Habitats exist in forms that support MDP (minimum dynamic populations) native species
(Baydack, Campa et al. 1999).
Unique features of landscapes are protected.
Contiguous habitats exist beyond the reach of stochastic events.
Connectivity between habitats is redundant and grain appropriate for native species.
Resources essential to migratory species exist.
Flowing water has no non-negotiable obstruction to passage of native life.
Soils retain natural mineral nutrient levels and moisture content to sustain native plant species.
Soils retain natural porosity and percolation, stormwater retention, and erosion resistance.
Soils remain clean enough to support native plants, bacteria, fungi, and soil organisms.
Water quantity and speed of surface flows meet historic cycles, durations, and intensities.
Average volumes of groundwater are balanced between withdrawals and recharge.
Water quality of all surface and groundwater is free of contaminates that threaten life.
Air quality poses no threats to life and photosynthesis.
Global climate is unaffected by human actions with energy budgets on land similar to native landscapes and no
increase in airborne pollutants that increase greenhouse gases.
Atmospheric radiation shield is maintained.
Table x - Criteria for Sustainable Social Systems
Social Condition
Needs
Safety/Security
Equity
No.
i
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Essential Attribute of Intact Social System
Basic human needs are met.
Resources necessary for human survival are accessible.
Future options are protected.
Human life is isolated from stochastic events.
Risks to human life/health are known.
Right to safe environment is institutionalized.
Natural resources benefit people.
Institutions exist to serve collective.
Individuals have a voice in matters that affect them.
Community values affect change.
Table 3 - Criteria for Sustainable Economic Systems
Economic Condition
Efficiency
Equity
No.
i
la
ib
2
3
3a
3b
4
Essential Attribute of Intact Economic System
Resource use must be linked with resource investment.
Maximize efficient use of natural resources and invest profits in increasing supply of natural resources
(Daly 2002).
Economic investments preserve the capacity for natural capital to be re-invested (Lovins, Lovins et al
1999)-
Qualitative community resources are improved (Kinsley 1994; USEPAiggS).
Net economic effects are greater than costs incurred to natural and social systems.
Consumption of natural resources is counted as a cost (Daly 2002).
Costs are calculated prior to being incurred.
Financial resources are sufficient to maintain community infrastructures, institutions, and services.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
5.3 Cross Cutting Case Description Germany: Cost-effective
reclamation and maintenance of Brownfield sites (KOSAR)
Uwe Ferber
Background
Across Europe, concerns about the shape and form of
urban living, economy, climate and environment and in
particular the problems related to urban sprawl, mean
that the compact urban development is increasingly seen
as an important component of sustainable and competi-
tive cities and regions. In particular, significant impacts
are seen in the transformation of European cities and
regions by the loss of a number of historical industries,
military conversion, inner-urban segregation, migration
and demographic change.The increasing suburbanisation
process and the reluctance of new investors to take on
urban locations are becoming a long term handicap for
economic growth and sustainable development. Poorly
integrated and unsystematic land use policies increase
land-related conflicts. Many European cities have been
developed (or soon will be developed) into regional
agglomerations, but planning methods, institutional
structures and the associated management tools have
not progressed fast enough to cope with the increasing
scale, interconnectivity and complexity this growth has
generated. It is claimed that the "traditional" planning
visions still applied can no longer deliver integrated plan-
ning for modern cities facing the demographic develop-
ment and integration needed to react to climate change.
Circular Land Use Management
The approach for land management is proposed on the
principle of Circular Land Use. REFINA-KOSAR contribute an
important element to the new concept of Circular Land Use
Management as an integrative policy and governance
approach, which presupposes a changed land use philoso-
phy with regard to land utilization.1
Circular flow land use management embodies a different
philosophy of use, which is expressed by the motto: "avoid
- mobilise - revitalise" (in German, REF).This management
approach accepts the exploitation of greenfield sites under
specific conditions, but primarily and systematically seeks
to utilise the potential of all existing sites including brown-
field and grayfield sites. Circular flow land use manage-
ment also intends to provide a governance approach. It is
implemented at both the local and regional level.The cycle
relies on (i) the interplay between strategies and instru-
ments in different fields of activity and on (2) a suitably
comprehensive deployment of tools (instrument mix) in
these areas, which includes planning, land information,
cooperation, organisation and management, investment
and support programs, marketing and legislation.
Mobilisation of site potentials:
brownfields (trade,
Industrlalor military}
spaces between bu fid ings i n
town and city centres
- urban redevelopment sites
sites under going planning
Relese of new sites
for construction in
the green be It
Rejection of sites
which are unsuitable
for new uses on a
longterm basis
Planning
Economic aspects
Instrument mix
-Legal, planning and
economic instruments
- cooperative steering
EmlroiMiual U
aspects Social aspects
Akanttonement
Cessation of use
Source: Reserch group nFl5che im Kreis", 2005
Circular Land Management Model
REFINA-KOSAR
The REFINA - project KOSAR tackles specifically the aspect
of interim use in the circular land use management. A sig-
nificant proportion of brownfield land, specifically in areas
with shrinking populations, is not immediately commer-
cially viable to bring back into beneficial use. Without some
form of public intervention these sites will remain unused,
and potentially derelict,for the foreseeable future.The con-
sequence is blight on the surrounding areas and communi-
ties and the loss of an opportunity to renewthe community
in a sustainable manner. High cost of reclamation / redevel-
opment and low market values constitutes a specific chal-
lenge for many cities and regions.The problems associated
with these sites particularly relate to:
market forces are not the driver for redevelopment
future use is often limited to soft end uses
reuse would only be a long term option
the majority of public programs focus on redevelopment
for economic beneficial uses.
'IThe basic theoretical principles of land recycling are expounded upon in detail in: Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR) (published by), Perspek-
tive Flachenkreislaufwirtschaft special publications series for the ExWoSt research field Fla'che im Kreis, Vol. i.'TheoretischeGrundlagen und Planspielkonzeption",
revised by Thomas Preu(5 et al. (German Institute of Urban Affairs et al.) and Fabian Dosch et al. (BBR), Bonn 2006.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
This status leads to residual brownfields where more and
more of these 'hardcore' sites remain unused or under-used
for long periods of time. This extended derelict phase in
turn can cause considerable associated urban problems for
the economic and social redevelopment of the whole area.
One possible option or basic solution for these sites are
soft-end uses, whether permanently (i.e. with a definitive
loss of development opportunities), or as an interim use (i.e.
affording the sites some form of reserve status).
For the first time, REFINA-KOSAR proposes a definition of
'Reserve sites':
Reserve sites were used by industry, military, or infrastruc-
tures that are or will be transformed by limited / targeted
technical and environmental interventions under urban cri-
teria, reserved with minimized risks for future users.
One pilot scheme will be tested in the city of Chemnitz for
different uses for leisure, recreation and low-cost green-
ings. One sub-topic of growing importance is the produc-
tion of biomass on reserve-sites. KOSAR develops recom-
mendations for the production of timber (for heating
systems, power stations) but also for the production of
grass. The critical boundary conditions on brownfields for
the biomass production are the soil conditions of brown-
fields (former industrial sites lack natural soils).
In a reserve status, no final or binding decision is made
regarding the future use of the site. It is probable that the
transition of a site from abandoned or derelict status to a
reserve status could be fairly immediately fulfilled, especially
for sites already publicly-owned, and it could also be a cost-
effective action. Therefore, a need exists to explore specific
planning and technical approaches for the use of reserve sta-
tus for brownfields. Options of this nature should be devel-
oped and implemented by affected regions and municipali-
ties as part of their spatial planning responsibilities.
Conclusion
Visions of Circular Land Use Management will be strongly
influenced by the goal to create beneficial land use struc-
tures - either by passive contributions on energy consump-
tion by traffic, natural soil protection or actively by energy
production on land integrated in temporal of final land use
options. KOSAR will contribute by finding adequate techni-
cal and urban solutions to the growing number of non-mar-
ket-viable brownfield sites. More information on KOSAR
under http://www.refina-kosar.de/
m-
Industrial Brownfield Fiirstenstrasse
Structural Concept as a Site with Reserve Status Fiirstenstrafee
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
5.4 Cross Cutting Case Description Germany: Strategies for
the Revitalization of Brownfield Areas in the Larger
Potsdam Region (SINBRA)-Technology Demonstration
Platform
Martin Bittens, Arno Rein, Hermann Rugner, Reimund Schwarze, Michael Finkel
In Germany and other European Countries, a large number of
regions exist where industrial, military and mining activities
during the past century have led to vast contamination in
soil,groundwater and surface waters.
Megasites In Europe
Large-Scale Contaminated Sites in Europe
Main features of these sites are:
The occurrence of multiple sources with usually unknown
extent
A multitude of large contaminant plumes in groundwater
The presence of multi-compound mixtures
The extreme investigation and remedial costs for site
revitalization.
Large-scale contaminated sites may severely affect human
health, the environment and the economy. Currently some
20,000 of these so called megasites exist in Europe (includ-
ing States from Eastern Europe) with estimated costs for
required revitalization measures that exceed the amount
of 100 Billion Euros.These figures clearly demonstrate that
revitalization of megasites demands innovative site investi-
gation and remediation strategies to make it economically
feasible. The REFINA-SINBRA project TVs: Technology
Demonstration Platform' addresses the challenges by the
application of innovative site investigation methodologies
at the Potsdam-Krampnitz site.These include:
i. On-Site Screening Tools
(a) Direct Push (DP) based groundwater investigations
(b)Tree sampling alongside a wide meshed grid as indicator
for volatile and semi-volatile contaminants in the subsurface.
2. Off-Site Screening Tools - Integral investigations in the
groundwater downstream area
(a) Assessment of mass fluxes to evaluate impacts
beyond the site (comparison with legal requirements)
(b) Acquisition of mass loads, concentrations, and site specific
data (kf,m,i) for modeling of transferand exposure pathways
(c) Assessment of uncertainties and the range of varia-
tions (concentrations, hydro-geological data, mass loads).
3. Modeling:Tools -Volatilization from soil and groundwater
(a) Pathway soil/groundwater -»»- indoor air
(b) Pathway soil/groundwater^^- ambient.
The tools contribute to the development, implementation, and
operation of an integrated decision support and management
system that allows a cost-effective revitalization manage-
ment. This system comprises an integrated environmental
A
Results from On- and Off-Site Screening Tools
impact assessment and a set of quantitative modeling, cost
calculation, and optimization tools to select cost-effective
options (land use restrictions, remediation, financial pre-
cautions, etc.) for managing existing risks.
Risk-based landuse related targets
Risk-Based Revitalization Management
By overlaying contamination data and the resulting reme-
diation targets, respectively, with a predefined planning
scenario, areas of conflict can be tagged. In an iterative
approach it is possible in further layouts to relocate the
33
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Cross-Cutting - Regional Planning Criteria for Site Prioritization
planned land uses in order to reduce the areas of conflict, megasite revitalization, taken into account criteria such
The procedure leads to an optimized eco-efficient and as land value, sustainability, remediation and develop-
cost-effective remediation strategy in the framework of ment costs.
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34
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization
5.5 Cross Cutting:
Discussion and Conclusion
Ann Vega, Kelly Black
The four speakers (two American and two German) in the
'cross-cutting' theme: "Regional Planning Criteria for Site
Prioritization," gave somewhat different perspectives con-
cerning the topic of site prioritization. In the German pre-
sentations, we heard from Martin Bittens and Uwe Ferber,
who spoke about Circular Land Use Management. Circular
Land Use Management describes the stages a particular
area may experience over its life time in an iterative fash-
ion: planning, use, cessation of use, abandonment, interim
use, reintroduction (then back to planning). Two REFINA
examples were given: KOSAR, which focused on cost-effec-
tive interim management and SINBRA, which focused on
minimizing development costs. In the American presenta-
tions we heard from Tom DeSantis, who spoke about
regional planning in the Buffalo-Niagara Region. Specifi-
cally, he spoke about a bi-national collaboration between
the U.S. and Canada called "Niagara 10"; the strategic
Brownfield Waterfront Plan; and the use of Brownfield
Opportunity Areas (BOA) as tools for sustainable regional
revitalization.Verle Hansen spoke about developing a mas-
ter plan for the town of Stella, Missouri using sustainability
planning criteria to create the built environment with no
net negative impacts on the environment.
The facilitated discussion focused primarily on the German
and American planning processes. In Germany, a planning
environmental impact assessment is required. However,
there are no quantitative limits for environmental impacts.
If damage occurs, but social and economic benefits are real-
ized, the damage is "forgiven."
Comments were made about the need for "environmen-
tal impact" boundaries. Developers are trying to profit,
and if boundaries aren't set, they will maximize profit at
the expense of the environment. Individuals are selfish.
They will focus on what benefits them as opposed to soci-
ety as a whole.The political framework needs to be estab-
lished to require and enforce environmental impact
boundaries.
Sustainability of the environment is not valued. Market
costs and benefits drive development. It might be possible
to develop a site for an interim use in order to "buy" time
for long-term planning. In the US, there is no regulatory
flexibility so the interim use would still need to meet regu-
lations. In Germany, it is easy to make the case for demol-
ishing buildings due to risk and this facilitates interim use.
People will pay to stabilize the area and remove stigma.
More sites can be prepared for revitalization because it is
not as expensive to stabilize the area as it is to completely
redevelop a site. It was questioned whether or not this
approach could be taken on a heavily contaminated site like
a superfund site, because it would cost a lot to stabilize the
site and remove risk.
Sprawl sells because most of the time it is cheaper then
remediating and repairing existing infrastructure.There is a
need for governments to identify what behavior people
should exhibit and provide incentives to encourage this
behavior. Governments need to generate support for sus-
tainable behaviors. They need to demonstrate that greater
negatives exist for sprawl over the long term. There is a
need to raise public awareness about resource depletion
and to educate individuals and governments about revital-
ization impacts.
It was stated that one site can have a huge effect on the
region, and it would be prudent to impose conditions on
that site to fit into the region. It is important to revitalize a
site within a regional context. One method proposed for
doing this was to establish sustainability planning criteria.
Some criteria have been developed in the US and were for-
warded to all workshop participants after the workshop
(and included herein). The criteria emphasize keeping
resources (economic, social, and ecological) within the com-
munity. The criteria were tested at a small scale and now
need to be tested at a larger scale. Other criteria mentioned
were LEED and Energy Star. It was stated that these criteria
are not as broad as the sustainability planning criteria.
One limitation on sustainability is cheap energy. Again -
without incentives or policies requiring certain approaches,
the market will drive development and revitalization and
ecological resources will be considered after social and eco-
nomic impacts.
Verle Hansen forwarded a list of his sustainability planning
criteria to all workshop participants. As a next step, perhaps
these could be incorporated into existing tools, like the
Brownfields Prioritization Tool in the Niagara Region. Tom
DeSantis and Martin Bittens would like to apply some of the
tools developed in Germany for minimizing development
costs at a site in
the Niagara region.
This will help deter-
mine if two areas
with similar prob-
lems (but in two
different countries)
can have similar
solutions.
Networking break
35
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Conclusions
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Conclusions
6.1 Incorporations in SMARTe
Ann Vega, Roger Argus, Kelly Black
SMARTe (Sustainable Management Approaches and Revi-
talization Tools - electronic) is a freely available, open
source, web-based, decision support system located at:
smarte.org. SMARTe helps users overcome site revitaliza-
tion obstacles by providing information, resources, links,
and case studies for all aspects of revitalization including
planning, environmental issues, social acceptance, and
economic viability. SMARTe also contains analysis tools
for evaluating specific aspects of revitalization such as
analyzing site characterization data, performing risk
assessments, selecting a developer, and converting units
of measurement. Further, SMARTe is an integrated deci-
sion support system that allows revitalization stakehold-
ers to objectively evaluate reuse options for specific sites
and circumstances using a cost-benefit calculator. Revi-
talization stakeholders can use SMARTe to help them
understand social, economic, and ecological trade-offs,
present information to other stakeholders, and develop a
revitalization plan.
The current version of SMARTe requires additional develop-
ment in areas such as: visioning, CIS capabilities, risk assess-
ment, fate and transport modeling, remediation technology
selection, identifying sources of money, sustainability, creat-
ing a revitalization plan and cost-benefit analysis. Addition-
ally, EPA wishes to expand SMARTe to allow users to
incorporate regional considerations in sustainable land
management planning (specifically from Phase 4 of the US-
German Bilateral Working Group). New versions of SMARTe
will be released every year with new tools and capabilities.
EPA is currently seeking partners for a Cooperative Research
and Development Agreement (CRADA) to further research
and develop decision support tools related to sustainable
land management. Tools such as educational materials,
documents, case studies, checklists, calculators, spread-
sheets, databases and decision analysis tools will be devel-
oped and incorporated into SMARTe. All such tools devel-
oped under Phase 4 of the US-German Bilateral Working
Group will be included.
37
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Conclusions
6.2 Incorporations in the REFINA program
Maike Hauschild, Stephanie Bock
REFINA - The program "Research for the Reduction of Land
Consumption and for Sustainable Land Management"
funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
(BMBF) is part of the German National Strategy for Sustain-
able Development. The German federal government has set
the goal of reducing land consumption for new settlement
and transport-related areas from currently 115 to 30 hectares
per day by 2020. In order to provide a scientifically reliable
basis for decisions and measures, REFINA supports the devel-
opment and testing of innovative concepts for the reduction
of land consumption. These concepts should help to achieve
a multitude of goals such as the protection of the environ-
ment and conservation of nature, economic growth, socially
compatible housing, quality of urban building and mobility.
The REFINA program bundles the competence of a large
number of institutions, projects and people in cooperation
across traditional sectoral and administrative boundaries -
with the aim of generating benefits for all. From 2006 to
2010, innovative concepts to reduce land consumption for
development and to promote sustainable land manage-
ment are to be developed and implemented. Throughout
the country, the program covers over 100 projects in 45
research consortia and single projects.
In 2005, phase 4 of the U.S.-German Bilateral Working
Group started with a new focus on sustainable revitaliza-
tion. The continued cooperation now is based on REFINA
projects with "volunteer" practitioners in the U.S.The inten-
sive discussions during the New York Workshop, the last
common meeting, showed the emphasis of working
together toward common goals and a shared vision.
The participating REFINA projects gained from the coopera-
tion in different aspects. The international cooperation
helped to widen their own perspective and contributed to
find new solutions by discussing the developed concepts in
Germany under an international perspectives. Learning
from each other strikes new and unconventional paths in
REFINA. The arrangements for further workshops point out
the growing interest in the cooperation concerning sustain-
able land use management.
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Conclusions
6.3 Next Steps of US-German Bilateral Working Group
Ann Vega, Maike Hauschild
As follow-up of the bilateral workshop in New York, EPA is
entering into a cooperative research and development
agreement (CRADA) with the Helmholtz Centre for Envi-
ronmental Research (UFZ) in Germany. Within the project
"The Terra, Aqua & Site Remediation Competence Centre
Leipzig (TASK)" the UFZ will develop DE.SMARTe.org, a mir-
ror image of SMARTe in German, and will develop tools
that can be re-mirrored back into SMARTe.TASK is dealing
with an accelerated technology and know-how transfer in
the fields of soil and groundwater remediation and con-
taminated site revitalisation and is jointly funded by the
BMBF and UFZ. The development of DE.SMARTe.org is to
implement several tools and results from the German
funding programs such as REFINA, KORA (Retention and
Degredation Processes to Reduce Contaminants in Ground-
water and Soil, http://www.natural-attenuation.de) or
SAFIRA (Innovative technologies for the economical reme-
diation of complexly contaminated groundwater,
http://safira.ufz.de) into the decision support system and
make them freely available to an international audience.
BMBF highly supports knowledge transfer from current
and former funding programs. Main activities of the
REFINA program in its final part are dissemination and
knowledge transfer. In this context, TASK and US EPA will
execute two bilateral workshops, one in 2009 in Germany
and a second in 2010 in the United States.
39
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utho
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Regional Approaches and Tools for Sustainable Revitalization | Participant List -Including Authors
Participant List - Including Authors
Roger Argus
Martin Bittens
Kelly Black
Stephanie Bock
Tom DeSantis
Uwe Ferber
Rebekka Gessler
Verle Hansen
Maike Hauschild
Lars Holstenkamp
Lee Man
Victor Ketellapper
Heinz-Peter Klein
David Kooris
Matthias Lampert
Stan McMillen
Doug MacCourt
Sabine Martin
Peter Meyer
Gertrude Penn-Bressel
Gary Riley
Cecily Sabedra
Reimund Schwarze
Steve Soler
StefanThiel
Ann Vega
Lyle Wray
Tetra Tech
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
Neptune and Company
German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu)
City of Niagara, New York
Ferber, Graumman und Partner
TU Muenchen
EPAORD
Projekttrager Jtilich (PTJ)
Leuphana University of Lueneburg
City of New York Mayor's Office
of Environmental Coordination
EPA Region 8
LEG Saarland
Connecticut Regional Planning Association
TU Muenchen
Connecticut Department of Economic
& Community Development
Ater Wynne LLP
Kansas State University Center
for Hazardous Substance Research
University of Louisville/ Northern Kentucky
Federal Environment Agency (UBA)
EPA Region 9
Tetra Tech
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) /
University of Innsbruck
Georgetown Development Company
Probiotec
EPAORD
Capitol Region Council of Governments
Roger.Argus@ttemi.com
martin.bittens@ufz.de
kblack@neptuneinc.org
bock@difu.de
Thomas.DeSantis@niagarafallsny.gov
uwe_ferber@projektsta dt.de
gessler@wzw.tum.de
hansen.verle@epa.gov
m.hauschild@fz-juelich.de
holstenkamp@uni.leuphana.de
lilan@cityhall.nyc.gov
Ketellapper.victor@epa.gov
h.klein@leg-saar.de
david@rpa.org
lampert@wzw.tum.de
stan.mcmillen@ct.gov
dcm@aterwynne.com
Smartim@ksu.edu
pbmeyeo2@louisville.edu
gertrude.penn-bressel@uba.de
riley.gary@epa.gov
Cecily.Sabedra@ttemi.com
rschwarze@online.de
SSoler@georgetownland.com
thiel@probiotec.de
vega.ann@epa.gov
lwray@crcog.org
Co-Authors
Stephan Bartke
Michael Finkel
Arno Rein
Herrmann Riigner
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) /
University of Tubingen
University of Tubingen
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
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Research for the Reduction of Land Consump-
tion and for Sustainable Land Management
(REFINA) is a research priority as part of the
FONA ("Research for Sustainability") program
of the Federal Ministry of Education and Sci-
ence (BMBF).
Bilateral Contacts
Project management on behalf of BMBF
Forschungszentrum Jtilich GmbH
Projekttrager Jtilich
Maike Hauschild
Zimmerstr. 26-27
0-10969 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30/20199-454
Fax: +49 (0)30/20199-430
email: m.hauschild@fz-juelich.de
Internet: www.fz-juelich.de/ptj/
Project management on behalf of U.S. EPA
USEPA, Office of Research and Development
Ann Vega
26 W. Martin Luther King Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Phone: +1513/569-7635
Fax: +1513/569-7676
email: vega.ann@epa.gov
Internet: www.epa.gov
f Julich
c/EPA
REFINA on the Internet:
www.refina-info.de/en
EPA/6oo/R-og/024
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