Brownfield site developments - A case study of Kävlinge municipality

Abstract: Today, several cities stand before the challenge to transform and redevelop discontinued industrial areas that many times occupies a central part of the locality. The adaptation to these policies is among others a result of attempts to embrace and promote sustainable development, as the transformation of brownfield sites can with the right conditions and strategies provide positive change on the environment, economic development and quality of life in a community. Kävlinge is a municipality whose industrial activity has had a noticeable significance to the urban development, and has ambitions to regenerate some of the discontinued brownfield sites into sustainable neighbourhoods. The aim of this study is to examine how brownfield sites could be transformed and developed into sustainable and successful areas and in what ways Kävlinge municipality’s future efforts concerning brownfield development are aligned with sustainable development. To examine this, ten factors have been drawn based on different theoretical concepts and texts. The factors have been used as a framework to analyse the brownfield development in Kävlinge. Two areas in the municipality have been investigated: Scan, a closed down abattoir industry located in the central parts of Kävlinge, and Barsebäck, a decommissioned nuclear power plant that is located by the coast in the periphery of the municipality, remote from the main towns. The study addresses a deepening of the concept of sustainable development and the strategy of brownfield development that is commonly used to promote sustainability in today's urban development, different selected factors that may implicate a successful and sustainable brownfield development, and a analysis of how Kävlinge municipality’s plans and visions relate to these factors. It is found that there are several factors affecting a sustainable brownfield development, among them the location and extent of the brownfield, environmental aspects and extent of remediation, the cooperation between the different stakeholders, the landowner and the municipality. The results also indicate that the brownfield of Scan is a suitable area to develop in view of sustainability, whilst the planned development of Barsebäck is more conflicting with the concept.