Land Reuse and Redevelopment: Creating Healthy Communities is a free textbook published by the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, written by multiple contributors, and is a community resource providing guidance on reusing land safely. It’s also about resilience, partnerships, and sustainability.
How land is used and reused can affect public health. There are hundreds of thousands of potentially contaminated sites that were formerly used as industrial, commercial, or residential properties. These sites are called brownfields or land reuse sites. Former gas stations, manufactured gas plants, factories, dry cleaners, and abandoned properties are typical sites that may have people living or working in close proximity to them. Unfortunately, many of these sites are contaminated with harmful chemicals or may even have been redeveloped without proper environmental oversight. These sites may lead to harmful chemical exposures for children and adults.
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: atsdr.landreuse@cdc.gov
Note: Dr. Christopher De Sousa and former student Lili-Ann D’Souza were involved in writing chapters 11 and 20.