The Brownfields Center

The Environmental Law Institute’s Brownfields Center provides essential information on brownfields cleanup and redevelopment with a focus on the concerns and needs of community groups across the country. The Center’s goal is to encourage and support effective citizen participation in the redevelopment of brownfields.

Brownfields, underused or abandoned land that may be contaminated, can scar inner city neighborhoods and restrict economic opportunity. Redevelopment, properly conceived and implemented, can improve public health and the environment, increase investment, and create long-term improvements in housing, jobs, recreational opportunities, open space, and public facilities. Without community involvement in the cleanup and redevelopment of sites, however, even well-intended brownfield redevelopment projects may not be sustainable.

The Brownfields Center brings together a wide array of brownfields resources with the goal of increasing communication among groups and individuals working on brownfields issues. The resource database consists of hundreds of listings of governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and for-profit companies working on brownfields across the country. Publications on a variety of issues provide information on brownfields, while the Community Tool Kit provides resources to enable communities to participate more fully and effectively in brownfields redevelopment. Finally, a visit to the bulletin boards or participation in an on-line seminar allows users to seek answers from brownfields experts, even on highly specific topics. The Brownfields Center is the central resource to consult on questions relating to all aspects of brownfields redevelopment.

Please e-mail us your suggestions for topics that we might discuss in a seminar, or any other comments.