How local population perceive impact of brownfields on the residential property values: some remarks from post-industrial areas in the Czech Republic

Brownfields are an integral part of contemporary cities in Central Europe. It is obvious that the occurrence of brownfields influences the value of residential properties that are located in their neighbourhoods. In our research, we focused on the problem of perception of brownfields and ways how the perception of these sites affects prices of local real estate. Set of questionnaire surveys was conducted in three case study municipalities (Karvina, Orlova, Detmarovice in the Czech Republic) to ascertain factors that cause the specific perception of brownfields in municipalities that are heavily affected by the heavy industry and mining. It was found that brownfields are perceived quite negatively here and local population believes that the occurrence of brownfields significantly affects local residential property values. More polarized opinions of the population have been ascertained in case of Karvina, where plenty of brownfields are located within the settled part of the city. A key finding of our survey is that spatial distribution of brownfields within the particular city is of crucial importance while thinking about the impact of brownfields on the residential property values