Brownfields and greenfields assessment method in relation to value potential and efficient use

Brownfields (greenfields) are defined as the areas with a significant change in the past from sites with intensive use to sites with limited use, further to under-utilized and abandoned areas (De Sousa, 2003; Frantál et al., 2013; Syms, 1999). Brownfields are generally classified as the sites with a high probability of substantial changes. Marcuse and van Kempen (2000) use the term ‘soft locations’ for such sites. Brownfields are the sites characterized by abandonment, discontinuation of production and often associated with land contamination (Jetmar, 2008; Kirschner, 2005; Lange & Mc Neil, 2004). This fact may lead to the loss of value of such property accompanied by a decrease in the land price, an increase in unemployment, or increased costs of the clean-up (Čiháková Aguilar, 2009). Although brownfield sites are the post-industrial outcomes of various anthropogenic activities and land use, the scarcity of land may play an important role in the attempts of finding new ways of utilization, redevelopment, and restoration of such areas based on their evaluation with regard not only to environmental issues but also sustainable development (Ahmad et al., 2018)