Measuring indirect benefits of brownfield redevelopment using the hedonic price method: The cases of Lansing, Michigan

The main purpose of this study is to measure the indirect economic benefits of brownfield redevelopment by using the hedonic price method. The study analyzed impacts of brownfield redevelopment on the price of surrounding properties, using three brownfield redevelopment cases in Lansing, Michigan. The empirical findings of the hedonic price analysis confirmed the existing literature observing that the proximity to brownfield sites or environmental hazards was negatively related to the property values in nearby neighborhoods. The empirical findings of the analysis also supported the hypothesized relationship between the proximity to brownfield sites and nearby housing values before and after redevelopment. Redevelopment of brownfields was expected to provide positive impacts on the housing values in the surrounding neighborhood by eliminating or substantially reducing the negative externality associated with brownfields.;The analysis employed two different hedonic functional models to estimate the indirect benefits of three brownfield redevelopment projects: a linear functional model and a log-linear functional model. The results of the two analyses were consistent with each other, showing that the estimated total benefit of three redevelopment projects was ;As this study confirms, the cleanup or redevelopment of brownfields provides indirect benefits that cannot be measured easily in the current market system. However, this kind of indirect benefit of brownfield redevelopment has not been an important consideration in the public decision-making framework. Without acknowledgement of the full potential benefits and costs associated with brownfield redevelopment, it is not possible to make an efficient allocation of resources in the public policy area. The empirical findings of this study can be used to justify public financial assistance for the cleanup or redevelopment of brownfields. The findings can also help government officials prioritize competing projects to use public resources more efficiently. This study also suggests that the estimated hedonic function can be used to determine the benefits of brownfield cleanup or redevelopment in the decision-making process.;However, some limitations were inherent in this study due to the small number of redeveloped brownfield sites. First, its empirical findings cannot be generalized as the indirect economic benefits of brownfield redevelopment due to the small number of brownfield redevelopment cases. Second, even though the study compared the benefits of three brownfield redevelopment cases based on their different redevelopment scenarios, the comparison should not be generalized due to the limited number of brownfield redevelopment cases in the study. The limitations of the study suggest that future researchers might consider analyzing the indirect economic impacts of brownfield redevelopment using a large number of redeveloped brownfields in various geographical locations, and contrasting hedonic price methods to other more descriptive approaches to measuring the indirect economic benefit of brownfield redevelopment.