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THE USE OF SPATIAL ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL BROWNFIELDS SITES
Citation:
TILLEY, J. S., R. PAUL, E. SLONECKER, AND E. WALKOWIAK. THE USE OF SPATIAL ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL BROWNFIELDS SITES. C. S. Mladinich, and S. Glavac (ed.), USGS STATUS AND TRENDS REPORT 2003. USGS, Corvallis, OR, , 200, (2006).
Impact/Purpose:
The objectives of this task are to:
Assess new remote sensing technology for applicability to landscape characterization; Integrate multiple sensor systems data for improved landscape characterization;
Coordinate future technological needs with other agencies' sensor development programs;
Apply existing remote sensing systems to varied landscape characterization needs; and
Conduct remote sensing applications research for habitat suitability, water resources, and terrestrial condition indicators.
Description:
Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or underutilized properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Most Brownfields sites are located in urban, commercial, and industrial areas. Under the Brownfields Program, the United States Environmental Protection Agency provides grants, technical assistance, and liability relief to encourage the remediation and/or redevelopment of these properties.
One of the key information requirements in any successful Brownfields Program is the ability to identify and inventory potential Brownfields sites. Because the current alternatives of ground-based surveys, informal real-estate listings, or general perceptions are time consuming and unreliable, we hypothesize that spatial information technologies can playa critical role in providing this inventory of potential sites. In this research, spatial analytical techniques and several diverse GIS datasets are used to efficiently and quickly identify potential Brownfields sites over a city-wide area. A defensible and repeatable geographic methodology will benefit any community in identifying properties that could be potentially returned to higher and better uses. With such an application, cost savings could be applied in the other processes of Brownfields revitalization or urban redevelopment.