Global Pressures for Sustainable Cities and Towns: Brownfield Developments a Pathway to Sustainability ?

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Global Pressures for Sustainable Cities and
Towns Brownfield Developments a Pathway to
Sustainability ?

• Dr Carol Dair and Dr Katie Williams
• Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development

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Introduction to the Presentation

• Sustainable towns and cities the potential of
  brownfield developments
• The sustainability of cities is of widespread
  concern
• Urban brownfield developments provide
  opportunities
• to introduce incremental changes to a city form
  to improve its sustainability
• to facilitate the creation of a spatially
  integrated, well connected, high quality,
  resource efficient and attractive environment and
  may help to regenerate run down urban areas

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Introduction to the Presentation

• Urban Brownfield potential
• Evidence from a research project suggests that in
  England the opportunities offered by brownfield
  sites to create a sustainable urban form are not
  being fully realised.
• This presentation reports on the key findings
  from the project.

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The Presentation

• Background
• Research aims
• Why research the sustainable development of
  brownfield sites
• Definitions what is a brownfield site?
• What is a sustainable brownfield site?
• Research questions and research design
• Findings achievements, barriers and drivers
• Urban brown developments - a pathway to
  sustainable towns and cities?

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Background research aims

• To investigate whether sustainable urban
  brownfield sites are being achieved in practice
  and if not why not
• Why look at this topic?
• Important because
• Amount of brownfield sites in the UK and the
  scale of urban land re-use
• Opportunity to create a sustainable urban form
• Strong emphasis in UK Government policy

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Definitions Brownfield Site

• Can have a negative association vacant, derelict
  and polluted.
• No statutory definition of brownfield land in the
  UK
• Definition land that has been previously
  developed
• Might include land occupied by factories,
  offices, housing etc.

Previous use Car Manufacturing Plant and Tannery
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Definitions

• Sustainable brownfield development
• A development that has been produced in a
  sustainable way design, construction, processes
• A development that enables people and
  organisations to act in a sustainable way

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Examples of brownfield sites
Greenwich Millennium Village
BO01 Malmo
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Research questions

• What elements of sustainability are considered,
  not considered or rejected and why?
• What trade-offs are made and who makes the
  decisions?
• Which stakeholder groups are more successful than
  others in realising their sustainability agendas?

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Research Design assessing practice

• Phase 1Developed a model of sustainable
  brownfield development from a literature review -
  included
• Elements of sustainability that are applicable at
  site level
• Stakeholders commonly involved in brownfield
  projects
• Phase 2 Assessment of practice through an
  examination of action (cases studies documentary
  investigations and interviews)

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Research Project case studies

• 3 year study of brownfield developments in
  England
• Recently completed developments were examined to
  assess the extent to which sustainability had
  been achieved
• 5 sites from different areas of England were
  selected as case studies
• Developments varied in size and included housing
  and mixed use schemes

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The conceptual model
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Assessment of sustainability the case studies
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Findings economic sustainability

• Main achievements (4/5)
• Local planning authorities flexible about land
  use
• Higher densities were permitted for commercial
  viability
• Main shortcomings (1/5)
• Barely any commercial buildings were energy and
  water efficient
• Most car parking provision for business premises
  did not meet business needs

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Findings social sustainability

• Main achievements (4/5)
• Most developments were physically integrated with
  high levels of accessibility
• On-site roads were designed to minimize speeds
• Main shortcomings
• Little provision of space for training/education
  (1/5)
• Designing out crime was not a priority (2/5)

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Findings environmental sustainability

• Main achievements
• Sustainably-produced timber was used (5/5)
• Biodiversity is protected and new wildlife
  habitats have been created (4/5)
• Main Shortcomings
• Most buildings were not energy or water efficient
  (1/5)
• Recycled materials rarely used (2/5)

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Findings drivers of sustainable development

• Regulatory requirement (3863)
• Client (purchasers, tenants, end users)
  requirement (26/63)
• Funder requirement (1663)

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Findings barriers of sustainable development

• Stakeholder apathy (4263)
• Cost or perceived costs (1463)
• Trade-offs between and within elements of SD
  (1463)
• Restrictions by the regulators and statutory
  undertakers (763)
• Supply problems sustainable recycled
  materials (563)

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Conclusions

• Overall sustainability is not incorporated into
  the majority of schemes
• Main omission is provision of a
  resource-efficient built environment (which has
  long term economic and social impacts)
• Regulation is the main driver for change not
  consumer demand
• Establishment of new management structures is
  required especially in new sustainable
  technologies
• Need better information and cost data on
  sustainable technologies
• Brownfield development a pathway to sustainable
  cities and towns?