Vacant, abandoned, and often contaminated former industrial and commercial sites, or brownfields, scar every state in America, but nowhere is the issue of greater concern than in America’s Northeast and Midwest.

Buffalo, Hartford, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Youngstown, Cleveland, Green Bay, and Baltimore represent only a handful of the former great cities of industry, transportation, and American ingenuity that are burdened with brownfields that epitomize blight and abandonment.   Even though some older cities have seen significant improvement and rejuvenation, many still suffer from disinvestment and deteriorating properties that saturate entire neighborhoods.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that there are roughly five million acres of abandoned industrial sites in cities alone—roughly the same amount of land occupied by 60 of the country’s largest cities.  Unfortunately, the visible deterioration and blight associated with brownfields has far-reaching consequences for surrounding neighborhoods and communities. All too often, abandonment attracts further disinvestment, and entire communities are weighed down by the stigma of brownfields sites.

The Northeast-Midwest Institute has been a leader in brownfields policy research for well over a decade.   Its leadership role helps to convene a diverse group of stakeholders dedicated to improving state and federal brownfields legislation and land reuse best practices.  For more information on the brownfields work at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, please visit Brownfields Current Initiative.