Re: [CPEO-BIF] Reflections on European brownfield policy

["Peter B. Meyer" <pbmeye02@louisville.edu>]

Let me echo Kris' writeup on the value of the second CABERNET conference 
... and assure you that the third conference, while it will be held in 
France, will be mostly in English and will have sessions with 
simultaneous translation into English from French (as we had from German 
into English in Stuttgart).  We'll be sure to alert you to the event in 
time to plan for it -- even to contribute to it if you want, but you can 
keep tabs on it at  www.cabernet.org.uk. 

One key facet of then difference between the US and the EU countries at 
the conference that Kris passed over lightly strikes me as worthy of 
more consideration:  the extent to which addressing brownfields -- and 
the efficient reuse of ALL urban land -- is central to their pursuit of 
sustainable development.  We have a tendency, evident in the history of 
our legislation and regulations regarding contaminated lands, to look at 
brownfields as EITHER an economic development OR an environmental 
protection problem but rarely as both simultaneously.  Most European 
programsa for urban regeneration attempt to tackle the issues involved 
on both levels at the same time.

Setting the issue as either/or means that wehave a tendency to look at 
short term economic returns and ignore long-term enviromental 
stewardship issues, or overdue stringent adherence to the polluter pays 
and precautionary principles. . Economic development priorities drives 
us torwards taking Rsik-Based Corrective Action approaches without 
addressing the record-keeping requirements that successful RBCA programs 
require. An absolutist protection of human health and the environment 
from the damage associated with past contamination, on the other hand, 
can result in the imposition of mitigation standards that are so 
stringesnt that no action is taken -- or that the immediate ecosystem 
risks are contained but the land is left idle, since any use could 
expose humans to higher risks.

Successful regeneration and efficient untilization of our sunk 
infrastructure, as well as the development of more sustainable urban 
forms, requires that this dichotomy be brokern down, and we learn better 
how to promote both economic redevelopment and environmental protection. 
Our colleagues and competitiors in other countries, including those from 
the Third World and from the newly emerging state of Central and Eastn 
Europe, have much to teach us in this regard, and we need to learn those 
lessons.

On the other hand, we have much to offer them. Kris mentioned 
environmental insurance in enumerating differences, but did not dwell on 
the extent to which the use of that tool for risk management is far more 
advanced in the US than it is in Europe. Certainly the financial risks 
differ, and we tend to be more litigious,  but  the issues are not just 
matters of risk, but the relationship of risks to rewards. The declining 
population of the EU member states means that they have proportionally 
more old economically depressed urban areas than we do, thus a higher 
proportion of sites with inadequate rewards to warrant high risks, so 
insurance may  be more valuable there than here ... and yet, the 
coverage products and their use lag the development of the insurance 
risk transfer markets in the US.

Finally, as an active participant in our past discussions about 
subsidies and brownfield redevelopment, I need to note that the pursuit 
of sustainable development as an objective may warrant focused 
incentives of a type not yet considered here, but that have been used in 
a number of contexts in Europe.

Best,
Peter
- - - - - - - -
Peter B. Meyer
Professor Emeritus of Urban Policy and Economics
Director, Center for Environmental Policy and Management
School of Urban and Public Affairs
University of Louisville
- - - - - - - -
Director of Applied Research
Institute of Public Leadership and Public Affairs
Northern Kentucky University
- - - - - - - -
President, The E.P. Systems Group, Inc.
- - - - - - - -
Senior Advison, E2 Inc.
- - - - - - - -
Managing Member, Ecofun, LLC
- - - - - - - -
cell         +1-502-435-3240
phone     +1-859-491-9298
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3205 Huntersridge Lane
Taylor Mill, KY 4101
USA



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