Internal Reserves of Cities: A New Approach to Assessing the Transformation of Urban Space under the Influence of Brownfields

Abstract

The disadvantage of the traditional approach to territorial planning of the past years is associated with an underestimation of the essence and multifaceted social brownfields and their importance in the sustainable development of urban areas in post-industrial society. The prospects for the development of the inner space of the city and the quality of life of people largely depend on the presence of brownfields since most of the brownfields can have a negative impact on the environment. This is especially noticeable in large cities and agglomerations. In this paper, we analyze the spatial distribution of brownfields in the largest agglomeration of Russia, comparing their prospects for redevelopment with the analysis of 10 dominant criteria of local priority affecting the transformation of the urban area. The article discusses in detail the reasons for making decisions about the nature of the impact of brownfields and the priority tasks of their elimination: the environmental situation and the economic interests of stakeholders. The study shows that the practice of making decisions on the liquidation of brownfields largely depends on their inclusion in the state register of objects of accumulated environmental damage, which makes it possible to accumulate environmental damage in the near future. However, the entry of accumulated environmental damage into the state register of objects is (1) a practiced procedure because it implies co-financing of the brownfield liquidation project by the federal authorities and (2) an insufficiently objective procedure for assessing the impact (lack of local priority criteria). Based on the conducted research, we believe that the elimination or urbanization of brownfields should be based on the analysis of local priorities in the transformation of urban areas (different from the criteria of modern practice of introducing the state register of brownfields), including the features of the territorial organization of public space, ecological and geographical environment, and public opinion.