Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Buckingham, Katherine (Katherine Eleanor)
Other Authors: Judy Layzer.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/81626
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author Buckingham, Katherine (Katherine Eleanor)
author2 Judy Layzer.
author_facet Judy Layzer.
Buckingham, Katherine (Katherine Eleanor)
author_sort Buckingham, Katherine (Katherine Eleanor)
collection MIT
description Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.
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spelling mit-1721.1/816262019-04-12T15:41:12Z Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts Buckingham, Katherine (Katherine Eleanor) Judy Layzer. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-50). Communities across the country struggle with the challenge of redeveloping vacant or underused, contaminated land, commonly referred to as "brownfields." Brownfields blight their neighborhoods and cause damage relating to poor environmental quality, detriments to public health, and decreased confidence in the surrounding area. Even though redeveloping brownfields offers numerous benefits, the process is an uphill battle for developers and municipalities alike. Given the multiple barriers to brownfield redevelopment, including: the difficulty of determining the level of contamination, unknown cleanup costs, uncertainty surrounding the extent of liability, the challenge of obtaining grants or outside funding to cover cleanup costs, and the unreliable development timeline, it is not surprising that private developers are often reluctant to undertake brownfield redevelopment projects on their own. Therefore, government plays a crucial role in spurring the redevelopment of brownfields to return them to productive reuse. Massachusetts' Brownfields Support Team (BST) Initiative offers an example of an innovative state program that takes a proactive approach to expediting brownfield redevelopment through the creation of interagency teams that meet monthly to facilitate assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of especially complicated sites. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of the BST through the experiences of two case studies: The Uniroyal and Facemate properties in Chicopee and the Kiley Barrel site in Somerville's Union Square. Through an analysis of these cases, this thesis aims to illustrate how and why the program is effective. Ultimately my research reveals that the BST approach was able to build strong relationships, generate creative solutions, and expedite the brownfield redevelopment process in both cases. This thesis also aims to inform other states' policies surrounding brownfield redevelopment with a discussion of the replication this program in other contexts. by Katherine Buckingham. M.C.P. 2013-10-24T17:36:33Z 2013-10-24T17:36:33Z 2013 2013 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/81626 859156019 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 50 p. application/pdf n-us-ma Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Buckingham, Katherine (Katherine Eleanor)
Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts
title Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts
title_full Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts
title_fullStr Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts
title_full_unstemmed Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts
title_short Massachusetts' Brownfield Support Team Initiative : program design and implementation in Somerville and Chicopee, Massachusetts
title_sort massachusetts brownfield support team initiative program design and implementation in somerville and chicopee massachusetts
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/81626
work_keys_str_mv AT buckinghamkatherinekatherineeleanor massachusettsbrownfieldsupportteaminitiativeprogramdesignandimplementationinsomervilleandchicopeemassachusetts