bbc.co.uk navigation

Gasometer on brownfield land, Bath, UK

Brownfield land

Brownfield sites are best described as derelict and disused industrial or commercial land. Areas of abandoned factories and old railway lines are becoming a refuge for a growing number of species. Once all the human activity has died down, wildlife starts to move back into these undisturbed areas. Brownfield sites can contain a mosaic of different habitats and niches, providing opportunities for a wide variety of animals and insects, from toads and snakes to dragonflies and rare bees. Plants can also thrive on the poor soils, from purple rosebay willowherb to yellow groundsels and dandelions.

Watch video clips from past programmes (4 clips)

In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.

About Brownfield land

Brownfields are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations.

In the United States, urban planning jargon, a brownfield site (or simply a brownfield) is land previously used for industrial purposes or some commercial uses. The land may be contaminated by low concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, and has the potential to be reused once it is cleaned up. Land that is more severely contaminated and has high concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, such as a Superfund site, does not fall under the brownfield classification. Mothballed brownfields are properties that the owners are not willing to transfer or put to productive reuse.

In the United Kingdom and Australia, the term applies more generally to previously used land or to sections of industrial or commercial facilities that are to be upgraded, although this usage is becoming more commonplace in the United States as well.

Read more at Wikipedia

This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.

Habitats

Other Terrestrial habitats

BBC News about Brownfield land

Elsewhere on the BBC

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.