Funding Agency: CUR Research Grant, Centre for Urban Research and Land Development (CUR), Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, ($7,500)
In municipalities throughout the GTHA, the legacy of a negligent past has left its scars on the urban landscape in the form of numerous under-used or abandoned brownfields. These sites typically represent 3.3% (De Sousa, 2006) to as much as 25% of land in Canadian cities (Benazon, 1995, 18). Historically, interest on the part of developers and other private sector stakeholders in putting these sites back into productive use tended to be minimal because of the fear that they may be contaminated, thus making them too expensive, time-consuming, and risky to redevelop profitably. This was compounded by developers’ fear of future liability for any adverse effects that could arise subsequent to redevelopment. To overcome these barriers, policy-makers have, over the last decade, implemented a range of policy, funding, and technical assistance tools aimed at both facilitating brownfield cleanup (i.e., Ontario Environmental Protection Act “record of site condition,” Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund 2000) and supporting redevelopment (i.e., Brownfields Statute Law Amendment Act 2001, Planning and Conservation Land Statute Law Amendment Act 2006, Brownfields Financial Tax Incentive Program 2008). Provincial policies aimed at curtailing sprawl and managing urban growth (i.e., Places to Grow Act 2005, Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe 2006) have also increased the need to unlock the redevelopment potential that brownfields offer.
This study seeks to identify and prioritize the barriers to the private sector redevelopment of brownfields for alternative end uses that continue to persist in the GTHA and to examine the effectiveness of existing and prospective policies, programs, and tools designed to alleviate these market barriers. Information will be gathered primarily through face-to-face interviews with developers, landowners, and other private sector stakeholders working on brownfields redevelopment throughout the GTHA. In addition, surveys will be undertaken to compile general information regarding the brownfields programs, policies, and tools available in GTHA municipalities.