Revitalizing brownfields helps rebuild communities

We hear the term brownfields used to describe property by those in community development, economic development and finance. But, for an average citizen, what does it mean and why should you care?

A brownfield is a property that is not being used because it seems like it may have contamination on it. Brownfields are those abandoned, underutilized, blighted and/or contaminated properties in our neighborhoods — from old gas stations, dry cleaners and auto body shops to large factories, industrial sites or scrap yards. These properties near our schools, churches, homes and waterways can be contaminated with chemicals, heavy metals or dumped waste material from past uses that can linger on-site and create risks to people and the environment. In worse cases, those contaminants can sometimes migrate off-site, through the subsurface groundwater, to create a greater risk for the community at large. Unfortunately, these properties are commonly in marginalized neighborhood, causing risks and an environmental injustice to the community

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