Coastal Brownfield Redevelopment

One result of Michigan’s industrial heritage is a significant number of brownfield sites, or vacant, abandoned or underutilized properties that may contain hazardous or toxic substances. Hundreds of these sites are located in the Great lakes coastal region.

Environmental factors alone make redevelopment efforts difficult and expensive. Yet when social, economic, and public policy questions join the mix, the process grows increasingly complex. With support from Michigan Sea Grant, a team of researchers from Eastern Michigan University (EMU) is conducting an integrated assessment of coastal brownfield redevelopment in Michigan to learn what approaches have led to successful redevelopment and how these strategies can be incorporated into future redevelopment efforts.

Led by EMU professors Robert Jones and William Welsh, the project will focus specifically on coastal brownfield redevelopment efforts that have received state funding during the last 20 years. While some brownfield projects are financed by private developers, community organizations, or local partnerships, others proceed with financial support from programs administered by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

This state funding is typically only a small portion of the actual remediation and redevelopment costs and is used to help “level the playing field,” explains Jones, so that brownfield projects can more evenly compete with the costs for greenfield projects (new developments). By redeveloping existing waterfront sites, communities can make the best use of valuable coastal locations.

“Waterfront property offers unique coastal recreational opportunities,” says Jones, “as well as potential for development of residential areas or improved coastal access.”

Researchers will conduct a scientific assessment of the economic, social, environmental, and public policy aspects of coastal brownfield redevelopment. As a first step, they’ve acquired a database of coastal brownfield projects from the MDEQ. They’ll combine this information with additional data sources including environmental assessment reports, site visits, and information from local communities and stakeholders.

Interviews with stakeholders will be conducted with those involved in cleanup and redevelopment efforts. Specific goals are to identify the role of stakeholders in determining the success of brownfield redevelopment projects; ascertain the assets and barriers to coastal brownfield redevelopment associated with various stakeholder groups; and create potential alternative coastal brownfield redevelopment policy scenarios based on stakeholder insight.

Information will be entered into a geographic information system (GIS). Using GIS, decision analysis theory, and various computer algorithms, the research team will develop a spatial decision support system to help evaluate project data against different redevelopment possibilities and alternative policy scenarios.

The outcome will be a user-friendly system that will enable policy makers, managers and stakeholders to more effectively accomplish the goals of coastal brownfield redevelopment, and provide a model system that could be adapted for use in other redevelopment efforts throughout the Great Lakes region.

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