According to Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) brownfields are vacant or underutilized industrial or commercial properties with contamination or have a suspicion of contamination which hinders redevelopment. These are properties where voluntary parties perform clean-up action and redevelop typically in accordance with a settlement agreement. Providence contains several brownfield sites that currently stand vacant. They are abandoned properties that are often considered eyesores of communities and pose a risk to the neighborhood health and safety.
However, brownfields could very possibly be the site of future redevelopment of economic activity. These sites provide the opportunity to reuse existing resources and help prevent waste of idle land. In addition, brownfields could be used as green space or as filters for rainwater runoff so as to reduce costs of sewage projects.
In 1998, Al Gore named RI as a Brownfield Showcase Community. With this designation, identified brownfield sites are allowed federal aid to clean up contaminated sites for redevelopment or reuse. The Showcase Community Program is currently focusing on two sites: Riverside Mills and Lincoln Lace and Braid through the Woonsaquatucket River Greenway Project. Both projects are geared towards increasing greenspace in Providence and creating jobs for the community.
There are several organizations devoted to promoting redevelopment of brownfields. A few of the programs are the Revolving Loan Fund, RIDEM, and the Industrial Property Remediation and Reuse Program. In addition, new state laws such as Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001 and the Brownfield Tax Incentive, allow developers to consider brownfields because of tax incentives.
Statistics from brownfield development from 1997:
- 85 sites entered program
- 1010 jobs created
- 65 business have been created retained on brownfield sites
- 4 sites redeveloped for open space and recreational use
- 4 sites built schools on brownfield site
