Community-based Brownfield engagement tool in Sunset Park, Brooklyn

Introduction Without community-based, data-aggregation tools, timely and meaningful local input into brownfield management is not tenable, as relevant data are dispersed and often incomplete. In response, this project lays the groundwork through which constructive dialogue between community members and local officials can be facilitated.Materials and methods A Brownfield Engagement Tool (BET) is envisioned as a means by which non-experts can use disparately held open data streams to collect, analyse, and visualise brownfield site data, better understand aggregate health risks, and provide direct input into remediation and redevelopment decisions. By raising awareness and providing knowledge about brownfield related issues, the BET is intended as a means to encourage community member participation in public debate. This concept is demonstrated for a 113-hectare Brooklyn, New York neighbourhood with a long history of industrial and mixed-use development resulting in 18 brownfields. The proposed remediation prioritization strategy offers a systematic analysis of the sites’ size, contaminants, and proximity to gathering spots and demographics.Results The BET proposed in this paper offers a novel approach for community-based management of brownfields done at the census tract level and based on factors that most affect the local community. By combining publicly-available, municipal, state, and federal data in the BET, a set of easy-to-understand metrics can be generated through which a community can compare and rank existing brownfields to prioritize future interventions and can be used as a support system for raising funding and investments to address neighbourhood issues. This type of approach is the first of its kind with respect to brownfield redevelopment.