The industrialized world is littered with tens of thousands of acres of vacant, decaying, and often contaminated industrial and commercial sites. These sites, commonly referred to as brownfields, scar the landscape of communities, expose citizens to possible health risks, deteriorate surrounding land values, and erode the tax base of municipalities. Vacant and abandoned industrial sites are present in every state, but the blight associated with brownfields is worst in Americas rustbelt, the chain of once great industrial cites and towns stretching along historic canals and rail lines from Baltimore to Boston, and west to Milwaukee. This thesis investigates federal and state brownfields policies and reviews contemporary brownfields literature and through a case study approach, it explains how state and federal policies created a climate conducive to brownfields redevelopment in Baltimore, Maryland. By analyzing two successful Baltimore projects, the research shows how the reuse of brownfields had a positive ripple-effect that helped precipitate neighborhood-level investment and revitalization. To help clarify the intricacies often associated with the reuse of brownfields, documentation on financing mechanisms, tax incentives, and state-level Voluntary Cleanup Program application materials are analyzed and described. The impact of the two case study sites on surrounding neighborhoods is researched quantitatively by comparing citywide tax assessed values, real property sales records, and building permit data. The datasets were collected for three years (1995, 2001, and 2007) each representing a distinct time period in Baltimores recent history of brownfield redevelopment. Lastly, to help establish comparable rates of neighborhood investment, this thesis uses location quotients based on building permit applications. The quotients compare Baltimores citywide building activity to building activity in neighborhoods with reclaimed brownfield sites.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MONTANA/oai:etd.lib.umt.edu:etd-05292008-201641 |
| Date | 07 August 2008 |
| Creators | Lewis, Gregory William |
| Contributors | David D. Shively, Ph.D., Christiane von Reichert, Ph.D., Robin Saha, Ph.D |
| Publisher | The University of Montana |
| Source Sets | University of Montana Missoula |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-05292008-201641/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Montana or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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