Environmental Rehabilitation of brownfield Sites in central Europe
The European Environment Agency estimates that polluting activities (40% due to industries) have occurred in about 3 million sites in Europe & that “data on the redevelopment of brownfields are patchy & hardly comparable, reflecting the lack of a common definition of the problem across Europe”. Territorial analyses carried out by prominent networks (e.g. Cabernet) show that the issue of brownfield development outlines a core topic for the CE area. GreenerSites seeks to improve the environmental management of unused/underused industrial areas through the definition of strategies & tools based on a sustainable integrated approach to make involved Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) cleaner, healthier & more liveable places. Thanks to the project, PPs will bring about a shared & enhanced knowledge on integrated environmental management of brownfields, reinforced capacities of the public sector to plan & carry out brownfield regeneration, well-defined sustainability measures & tools to ensure viability & effectiveness of environmental planning. GreenerSites will build on know-how from previous EU projects & existing networks & will apply an innovative integrated approach which takes into account the whole FUA (9 FUAs involved for a total of 6 million citizens) & the need to reconcile effective environmental quality with necessary economic development. Main outputs will be a common tool for brownfield regeneration stemming from the preliminary analyses conducted in 9 CE FUAs; 9 Strategic Action Plans defined in two steps (joint concept and full definition at FUA level after pilot phase); 11 pilot actions (PAs) testing more sustainable & novel technical solutions in brownfields to improve their environmental performance; a full training package for public employees and stakeholders; a Common transferability manual. Transnational added value of the project will be the elaboration of common tools, the definition of the innovative approach & its pilot application in 9 FUAs.