[CPEO-BIF] Recent law review articles of interest

["Robert Hersh" <b_hersh@verizon.net>]

Please see below for two recent law review articles on brownfields and smart
growth that might be of interest to our listserv members.   

Bob

Eisen, Joel, 2007, BROWNFIELDS AT 20: A CRITICAL REEVALUATION 
34 Fordham Urb. L.J. 721

>From the conclusion:
"Allowing developers to control their own cleanups also does not comport
with a vision of community-wide real estate development, such that after a
decade of experience, a "consensus is building among environmental and real
estate professionals that the remediation and reuse of brownfields that were
not addressed through 'first generation' brownfield programs will require
new strategies." A second generation of brownfields policies, such as New
Jersey's BDA initiative, is needed. Second generation brownfields policies
should allow for more area-wide, community-focused processes, like the BDA
initiative, to capitalize more effectively upon the economic promise of the
brownfields story. An approach such as the BDA has the potential for
considerable advantages over parcel-by-parcel brownfields development, and
brings brownfields revitalization closer to the ideal of "smart growth" than
leaving development solely in the hands of individual developers. 

************
Gerrit-Jan Knaap and John W. Frece, 2007. SMART GROWTH IN MARYLAND: LOOKING
FORWARD AND LOOKING BACK. 43 Idaho L. Rev. 445 

>From the conclusion:
"While the idea that the state should not underwrite urban sprawl remains a
valid concept, the hope that the state budget could be used to curtail urban
sprawl has not been fulfilled. The disappointment stems from a number of
factors. First, sprawl has many causes, and the only effective way to
address sprawl is through planning. Maryland's Smart Growth laws were never
integrated into its planning laws. Second, many if not most of the funds
that finance sprawl come from local and private sources. It is unlikely that
the targeting or removal of state subsidies alone will ever have a
significant effect on sprawl without complementary land use plans and
regulations. Finally, the state budget remains largely under the control of
the governor. If the control of sprawl is contingent on the administration
of the state budget, then control of sprawl is overly contingent on support
for this effort from the state administration."


_______________________________________________
Brownfields mailing list
Brownfields@list.cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org/mailman/listinfo/brownfields