Greenfield land is a

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

term referring to undeveloped land in an

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

either used for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and gard ...

, or left to evolve naturally. These areas of land are usually agricultural or amenity properties being considered for

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

. Greenfield land can be unfenced open fields, urban lots or restricted closed properties. They are kept off limits to the general public by a private or government entity. Greenfield sites offer a high degree of freedom for a developer, compared to sites with existing developments. For example, a greenfield site is a welcome opportunity for a

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

operator to choose equipment based on cost and aesthetic parameters, without considering migration issues related to legacy equipment on the site. Rather than building upon greenfield land, a developer may choose to redevelop

brownfield In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...

greyfield land Greyfield land is underused real estate assets or land. The term was first coined in the UK in urban design theory in the late 1990s, and later adopted in the US about a decade later, with the name coming from the "sea" of empty asphalt concrete ...

s, which have been developed but left abandoned or underused.

Other uses

The term has broadened in scope to refer to

greenfield project In many disciplines, a greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to work within the constraints of existing buildings or infrastructure ...

s, which are not constrained by compatibility with prior work but also lack the benefit of existing infrastructure or testing.

References

Redevelopment Urban decay Urban studies and planning terminology {{planning-stub