A systems approach to assess the redevelopment options for urban brownfield sites

The problem addressed is: How can an appropriate redevelopment option for an urban brownfield site be determined? A systems-based approach, Brownfield REMIT/RESPONSE (BRR), to assess the impact of brownfield redevelopment on the surrounding urban area has been developed. This utilises REMIT/RESPONSE combined with urban theory to develop a dynamic model of the generic impact of brownfield redevelopment that when combined with site-specific information can be used to identify and compare the impact of different redevelopment options. The development of a roadmap of the brownfield redevelopment process identified when decisions about the redevelopment option of a brownfield site were likely to be taken and was used to produce a list factors relating to the brownfield site and the surrounding urban area that could affect this decision. A review of the National Garden Festivals identified that the most important factor in delivering an appropriate redevelopment option where a site is initially redeveloped for a temporary event is the planning component of the characterisation, planning and design stage of the brownfield redevelopment process. An assessment of urban models determined that it was not possible to predict the impact of brownfield redevelopment on urban area as a means of comparing alternative redevelopment options. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a new tool to compare alternative redevelopment options. The developed tool, BRR, provides a means to assess the redevelopment options of brownfield sites in an integrated and systematic manner that considers the social, economic and environmental aspects of the redevelopment. To demonstrate that BRR could be applied to assess brownfield redevelopment it was applied to develop a systematic objective-based model of the redevelopment of the Radford site. By analysing the effects of policy identified within the model it was identified that, at the Radford site, there was no policy requirement to assess the sustainability of the redevelopment option chosen and that conflicting policies delayed the redevelopment of the site. BRR was applied to assess the proposed redevelopment options at three sites. At the first two sites, a single option was assessed to determine if it was appropriate. At the Shaw and Marvin site it was shown that the redevelopment option was appropriate and at the Willoughby Garages site it was shown that whilst the redevelopment option was not inappropriate, it was likely that a more beneficial option could be identified. At the third site, Basford gasworks three redevelopment options were compared and it was determined that industrial and commercial units were the most appropriate of three options