2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

44 Strengthening Communities with Neighborhood Data
GIS technology provides local governments with data access that, in
many cases, was not even conceived of three decades ago. For example,
many local governments have become involved in brownfields remediation
work as a result of the environmental unknowns associated with
former commercial and industrial properties. Depending on the type
and extent of environmental contamination discovered on a property,
the cleanup costs associated with preparing brownfields sites for redevelopment
can be extraordinarily expensive. The financial risks associated
with such unknowns prevent many developers from moving forward on
projects on brownfields sites, leaving the properties vacant, unproductive,
and contributing little to the local government tax base.
GIS technology enables local governments to better analyze the
potential financial risks associated with brownfields properties, making
them more desirable for redevelopment. The creation of historic datasets
documents former uses, as well as what materials and chemicals might
have been used on the properties. Aerial imagery can reveal former land
uses and potential hotspots on a property. Topological and soil data can
be used to indicate the possible extent of environmental contaminants
and the underground movement of such contaminants over time. The
more information available to help determine what may be discovered
(i.e., what, if any, contamination exists; what types of contaminants may
be found; and where they may be found on the site), the fewer surprises
a property holds, and thus the more confidence developers and investors
have to move forward with a potentially challenging redevelopment
project.
In creating all these data layers, an inventory of available properties
emerges that can be used to market brownfields properties. Walsh and
colleagues (Fleming 2014) report that in 2008 the Mayor’s Office of Environmental
Remediation in New York City sought to develop an Internetbased
GIS application that could function as a real estate search engine
for developers seeking information on brownfields properties and sites
in the city. The new application, called the Searchable Property Environmental
E-Database, or SPEED, combines brownfields-related data
with other local government datasets such as location of schools, hospitals,
truck routes, and public transportation hubs. With this arsenal of
information, developers have a clear vision of what the local government
hopes to have happen with a property and would support should a project
be proposed. SPEED has proved its value, having been visited over
3.7 million times by 1.6 million unique visitors since its release.