Greenfield Development :
Greenfield sites are often on the fringes & may have better access, with less traffic congestion, with a pleasant environment and extra space to sprawl. Large family houses with gardens are more likely to be able to be built on Greenfield sites. New sites are easier to construct on and is more attractive to retail parks, housing developers, etc. On the other side of the coin, using Greenfield sites is often not sustainable, as these sites take the core from towns and locate them on the fringes. In such sites new infrastructure has to be provided. Wildlife may suffer as many lose habitats, trees may have to be cut down, and history speaks that environmentalist protest to Greenfield developments.
Brownfield Redevelopment:
Brownfield redevelopment eases pressure on Greenfield sites and is more sustainable – it’s good to reuse land. House prices would increase in core city areas as people are encouraged back into the area. Infrastructure already exists in urban areas. New employment opportunities come up. New housing can lead to redevelopment (old housing – area becomes trendier & more affluent) so the neighbourhood will improve. Providing public transport networks is easier in central areas where the population densities are high – investment is focused in central areas. Towns & cities do not want their areas to decay – redevelopment results in more people coming to the area, which helps local businesses. Redeveloping Brownfield sites can bring a ‘dead’ area back to life. On the other side of the coin, increased house prices due to core city redevelopment might mean that local people cannot afford the houses, & the authority will have the problem of providing for them. Clearing rubbish from Brownfield areas is expensive. There may be an issue of contamination & making sites safe for development, given what the land may have been used for before. In cases of “Hyperlocal” neighbourhoods – all brownfield sites can have a usage in each locality for one or the other usage.