Impact of Environmentally Contaminated Brownfield Sites

Little research has been conducted on the potential impact of such negative externalities as brownfields on surrounding property values.This study analyzes the impact of a contaminated brownfield site on communities, as reflected in the impact of such sites on property values. The Hedonic price method is used to analyze the relationship between distance from the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railway site in Spokane, Washington, and house prices in the Hillyard neighborhood. A linear model is estimated with house price as the dependent variable, and structural attributes of a house are the independent variables. Distance from a house to the site is the environmental variable. A neighborhood six miles away, West Central, without a brownfield site,serves as a control area for the study.Data spanning a twenty-year period, from 1980 to 1999,was collected for both subject and control areas.A comparison of the subject and control areas shows house prices in both areas to be significantly different from each other.The study also provides an understanding of the brownfields phenomenon, and analyzes the dilemmas and strategies of brownfields redevelopment.