Stakeholders’ perspective on strategies to promote contaminated site remediation and brownfield redevelopment in developing countries: empirical evidence from Pakistan

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 27; no. 13; pp. 14614 - 14633
• Main Authors: Ahmad, Naveed, Zhu, Yuming, Shao, Jing, Lin, Hongli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-05-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Brownfields; Developed countries; Developing countries; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental factors; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Environmentalists; LDCs; Literature reviews; Loans; Redevelopment; Remediation; Research Article; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Pakistan; Developing countries; Contaminated sites; Pakistan; Remediation; Promotional strategies; Brownfield redevelopment
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-07990-3

Due to the potential of reducing negative outcomes of brownfields on environment and contribution to urban sustainability, brownfield redevelopment (BR) gained considerable recognition in the more recent era. Comprehensive literature shows that many studies proposed strategies to promote BR in developed nations; however, studies focusing on developing economies are scarce. Therefore, this study intends to identify significant strategies to promote BR in developing countries by taking the case of Pakistan. A comprehensive literature review and expert opinion were commenced to identify potential strategies. Data were collected from the main stakeholders involved in BR process through an empirical questionnaire. The findings revealed that “Low-interest loans and subsidies with the collaboration of government and financial institutions,” “Standardized definition, guidelines, and simplified brownfield process,” “Development of technical and infrastructure support,” “Create investors interest,” “Strengthening remediation technologies R&D” were the five most important strategies to promote BR in Pakistan. Theoretically, the novelty of the current study is to highlight the key strategies to promote BR in developing countries. Practically, the study facilitates governments, urban policymakers, environmentalists, and stakeholders to propose and implement appropriate strategies for promoting BR. Future studies can consider modeling the interactions between strategies and their impact on BR adoption.