Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / The state of brownfield redevelopment in areas such as the Midwest and the southern states have been well documented and supported by political action. The City of Tucson has a different social, economic, and political makeup than others. Brownfield remediation, therefore takes on a different ideal approach. In order to achieve an understanding of brownfield remediation within this metro area, economic statistics from neighborhoods harboring brownfields as well as information concerning active and successful sites such as the Greenway Connection, the Tucson International Airport, and the Old Fort Lowell Adkins property were analyzed. Neighborhoods with brownfields have lower median incomes, property values, percentage of family households, and higher unemployment than the average Tucson case. Lower economic status among stakeholders in concert with communal and area factors, contribute to stagnation in the remediation of these sites.

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This thesis set out to investigate the processes that determine the richness and composition of plant communities of spontaneously colonized derelict land in Metro Halifax, Nova Scotia. As urbanization rates continue to rise urban spontaneous vegetation (USV) communities are becoming more common. While typically considered to have no or negative economic value, USV contributes to a variety of ecosystem services not captured in current urban ecosystem models. Vascular plant composition and aboitic conditions of three urban communities (USV, forest and lawn) are described in Chapter 2. USV is diverse and unique, but the abiotic variables measured were not strong predictors of plant diversity. In Chapter 3, ecosystem services provided by the three urban habitats were quantified and compared, showing USV provides several ecosystem services that complement other urban habitats. Studies of urban biodiversity aid in the understanding of the effects of urbanization on biota and serve as a foundation for encouraging diverse communities of organisms within cities. Factors influencing the distribution and composition of USV communities could be vital for preserving native species by incorporating such knowledge into planning and urban development systems. USV should be considered an asset to urban greening initiatives, providing a low-cost, low maintenance approach to landscape planning, while providing a number of ecosystem benefits not provided by traditional elements of landscape design.

This thesis deals with brownfields and is focused on the issue of brownfields of military origin in detail. The aim of this thesis is to propose an new utilisation of a specific military brownfield located in the protected landscape area Poodří. The former military area has been used as storehouse of fuel for the airport Mošnov. This area came under the administration of the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic in the year 2012. Nowadays the area has no use and deteriorates. An new utilisation is based on a detailed research of this area and on broader conditions. The proposal for an the utilisation respects requirements of the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, is feasible and sustainable.

Diploma thesis The Artistic Exhibition in the Post-Industrial Area deals with issues of post-industrial sites and their connection with artistic expositions. The thesis consists of two main parts, theoretical and design. Firstly, the theoretical part defines the main concepts related to the given issue. The following section deals with examples of conversion of such sites in European cities and also cities under the conditions of the Czech Republic. In these examples, the thesis aims to evaluate the process of converting post-industrial sites and the characteristics of their current state. The diploma thesis is looking for a connection with art in these locations. Secondly, the design part of the thesis contains analysis of the primary secondary and tertiary structure of a selected territory and also deals with the broader context in the territory which is crucial in the complex urbanistic conditions of the statutory city of Ostrava. The following part of the thesis deals with the detailed proposal of the locality in Ostrava, near the Lower Vítkovice Area (Dolní Oblast Vítkovice) and Hlubina Mine. The aim of this section is to create an urban park that will respect the Genius Loci, the current content and traffic in the territory. The thesis deals with problems and conflicts in the area and solves them adequately according to the current state of the territory. The proposal also includes artistic objects and creates conditions for the artistic exhibitions. The final chapter discusses and evaluates the possible continuation and connection to the given issue.

This study explores the potential of applying Canadian experiences of brownfield redevelopment to Chinese practices by investigating three cases: City of Kitchener, City of Hamilton and City of Dalian. Data collection methods in this research contain interviews, on-site observations and document collection and review. Both Kitchener and Hamilton have achieved considerable success in redeveloping brownfields largely due to government’s persistent commitment, various financial incentives through CIP, effective marketing efforts, and good public-private partnerships. These factors are regarded as successful municipal experiences based on the assumption that all municipal programs/approaches should be considered “successful” if the redevelopment occurs as opposed to the no-action alternative. Brownfields in Dalian are being formed, purchased and redeveloped in a different way from their Canadian counterparts. Dalian confronts different challenges such as high environmental risks and lacking detailed historic site information and community support. After comparing Canadian and Chinese practices, the study concludes that the successful municipal experiences of Kitchener and Hamilton are meaningful references to Dalian’s practice. Especially, public-private partnerships, marketing of brownfield programs and brownfield coordinators can help Dalian to create community support, improve the regulatory environment, and reshape the City’s public image. The SSRA approach used in Canada to develop appropriate clean-up criteria for a brownfield site may also be a useful technique for Dalian. Nevertheless, upper levels of Chinese government must take hard efforts in rule-making, regulating and planning in order to maintain economic growth while at the same time ensuring public safety/health in brownfield redevelopment. In addition, the researcher raises several constructive suggestions to China’s brownfield practice based on key findings from the field research.

This study explores the potential of applying Canadian experiences of brownfield redevelopment to Chinese practices by investigating three cases: City of Kitchener, City of Hamilton and City of Dalian. Data collection methods in this research contain interviews, on-site observations and document collection and review. Both Kitchener and Hamilton have achieved considerable success in redeveloping brownfields largely due to government’s persistent commitment, various financial incentives through CIP, effective marketing efforts, and good public-private partnerships. These factors are regarded as successful municipal experiences based on the assumption that all municipal programs/approaches should be considered “successful” if the redevelopment occurs as opposed to the no-action alternative. Brownfields in Dalian are being formed, purchased and redeveloped in a different way from their Canadian counterparts. Dalian confronts different challenges such as high environmental risks and lacking detailed historic site information and community support. After comparing Canadian and Chinese practices, the study concludes that the successful municipal experiences of Kitchener and Hamilton are meaningful references to Dalian’s practice. Especially, public-private partnerships, marketing of brownfield programs and brownfield coordinators can help Dalian to create community support, improve the regulatory environment, and reshape the City’s public image. The SSRA approach used in Canada to develop appropriate clean-up criteria for a brownfield site may also be a useful technique for Dalian. Nevertheless, upper levels of Chinese government must take hard efforts in rule-making, regulating and planning in order to maintain economic growth while at the same time ensuring public safety/health in brownfield redevelopment. In addition, the researcher raises several constructive suggestions to China’s brownfield practice based on key findings from the field research.

Much has been written about both brownfield redevelopment and infill development as methods of improving the urban landscape. Barriers to these forms of urban and suburban development are all too often just superficially noted, and seldom subjected to critical analysis. Large metropolitan centres receive most mention; in fact, small, former industrial cities are rarely contemplated in the existing literature. To address shortcomings of critical analysis and the lack of attention on smaller cities, this study focuses on Nanaimo, British Columbia, a former coal mining and lumber processing community turned regional distribution and educational centre. The research is contextualized by a comprehensive review of the existing literature. Then, applying a qualitative research strategy, it was found through both a review of planning policies and in-depth interviews that Nanaimo was impacted differently than large metropolitan centres, and specifically in terms of the barriers that affect infill and brownfield redevelopment. As a result, Nanaimo suffers from additional economic challenges that render commonly-accepted strategies for encouraging infill and brownfield redevelopment less effective. Further, an examination of British Columbia’s program that was designed to support increased levels of brownfield redevelopment revealed that the program is essentially ineffective. Provincial funding models designed to induce redevelopment passively prioritized sites with little or no contamination, offering little financial aid to remediate seriously contaminated brownfield sites. / Graduate

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Master’s thesis addresses the problem of one of the largest brownfields in Brno, site of the former weapons factory, Zbrojovka Brno. The resulting solution is the revitalization of the area into an attractive urban structure offering a variety of spaces for self fulfillment of various groups of people represented by permanent residents, as well as temporary visitors. From the urban point of view the area is divided into a quiet zone along the banks of the river Svitava designated for housing, recreation and relaxation, the central part of mixed areas for trade, services and housing, and the administrative section along the railway line separating the living area from noise emiting railway. From an architectural point of view there is a symbiotic combination of the historical legacy of industrial buildings with contemporary concept of modern architecture into one functional unit.