construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of
land development
Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as:
* Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing
* Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose ...
uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of
urban space
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
.
Description
Variations on redevelopment include:
* Urban
infill
In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban mar ...
on vacant parcels that have no existing activity but were previously developed, especially on
Brownfield land
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 ...
, such as the redevelopment of an industrial site into a
mixed-use development
Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
.
* Constructing with a denser land usage, such as the redevelopment of a block of townhouses into a large apartment building.
*
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...
, where older structures are converted for improved current market use, such as an industrial mill into housing lofts.
Redevelopment projects can be small or large ranging from a single building to entire new neighborhoods or "new town in town" projects.
Redevelopment also refers to state and federal statutes which give cities and counties the authority to establish redevelopment agencies and give the agencies the authority to attack problems of urban decay. The fundamental tools of a redevelopment agency include the authority to acquire real property, the power of eminent domain, to develop and sell property without bidding and the authority and responsibility of relocating persons who have interests in the property acquired by the agency. The financing/funding of such operations might come from government grants, borrowing from federal or state governments and selling bonds and from
Tax Increment Financing Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program is ...
.
Other terms sometimes used to describe redevelopment include
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
(urban revitalization). While efforts described as urban revitalization often involve redevelopment, they do not always involve redevelopment as they do not always involve the demolition of any existing structures but may instead describe the rehabilitation of existing buildings or other neighborhood improvement initiatives.
A new example of other neighborhood improvement initiatives is the funding mechanism associated with high
carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...
air quality
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
urban blight
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
. Assembly Bill
AB811
Contractual Assessments: energy efficiency improvements, Assembly Bill 811 (AB 811) is an Environmental policy, environmental California law, law in California signed into law by Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 21, 2008. AB 81 ...
is the
State of California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
's answer to funding
renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
and allows cities to craft their own sustainability action plans. These cutting edge action plans needs the funding structure; which can easily come forward through redevelopment funding.
Urban renewal
Some redevelopment projects and programs have been incredibly controversial including the
Urban Renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
program in the United States in the mid-twentieth century or the
urban regeneration
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
program in Great Britain. Controversy usually results either from the use of
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
, from objections to the change in use or increases in density and intensity on the site or from disagreement on the appropriate use of taxpayer funds to pay for some element of the project.
Urban redevelopment in the United States has been controversial because it can displace poor and lower middle class residents, often transferring residents' land and homes to developers for free or a below-market-value price. This is done on the condition that the developer will use that land to construct new commercial and residential developments.
The residents displaced by redevelopment are often undercompensated, and some (notably month-to-month tenants and business owners) are not compensated at all. Historically, redevelopment agencies have been buying many properties in redevelopment areas for prices below fair market value, or even below the agencies' own appraisal figures because the displaced people are often unaware of their legal rights and lack the will and the funds to mount a proper legal defense in a valuation trial. Those who do so usually recover more in compensation than what is offered by the redevelopment agencies.
The controversy over misuse of eminent domain for redevelopment reached a climax in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 decision in
Kelo v. City of New London
''Kelo v. City of New London'', 545 U.S. 469 (2005), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 5–4, that the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another private own ...
, which ruled that the general benefits a community enjoyed from economic growth qualified private redevelopment plans as a permissible "
public use
Public use is a legal requirement under the Takings Clause ("nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation") of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, that owners of property seized by eminent domain for "publ ...
" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.. The ''Kelo'' decision was widely denounced and remains the subject of severe criticism. Remedial legislation to restrict the use of eminent domain for private development has been enacted or introduced in a number of states.
Golf course redevelopment
Golf course redevelopment, also known as golf course conversion is a
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
niche, in which investors purchase failing golf courses. Investors then subdivide the golf course into individual plots of lands. They then resell the plots of land for builders, or build on the plots then resell it to residential home buyers. This process is usually done with the assistance of a
real estate broker
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...
.
The main challenge of this niche is the difficulties that investors face in requesting a
variance
In probability theory and statistics, variance is the expectation of the squared deviation of a random variable from its population mean or sample mean. Variance is a measure of dispersion, meaning it is a measure of how far a set of numbers ...
from cities.
Notable examples
North America:
*
Atlantic Station
Atlantic Station is a neighborhood on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States comprising a retail district, office space, condominiums, townhomes and apartment buildings. First planned in the mid-1990s and officially op ...
, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Atlantic Yards
Pacific Park is a mixed-use commercial and residential development project by Forest City Ratner that will consist of 17 high-rise buildings, under construction in Prospect Heights, adjacent to Downtown Brooklyn, Park Slope, and Fort Greene in ...
, Brooklyn, New York
*
American Tobacco Historic District
The American Tobacco Historic District is a historic tobacco factory complex and national historic district located in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 14 contributing buildings and three contributing structures bui ...
, Durham, North Carolina
*
CFB Downsview
Canadian Forces Base Toronto (also CFB Toronto) is a former Canadian Forces base in Toronto, Ontario. The airfield is currently operated as Toronto / Downsview Airport.
RCAF Station Downsview
The Downsview Lands were part of an extensive land p ...
->
Downsview Park
Downsview Park is a large urban park located in the Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park's name is officially bilingual due to it being federally owned and managed, and was first home to de Havilland Canada, an aircra ...
, Toronto, Ontario
*
CFB Griesbach
CFB Griesbach (Griesbach Barracks) was an army base that was located in the north end of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The site was named after Major-General William Antrobus Griesbach (1878–1945), a veteran of the Second Boer War, the First World ...
->
Griesbach, Edmonton
Griesbach is a developing community in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This mainly residential neighbourhood was formerly the site of a military base, part of CFB Griesbach. The land was transferred to Canada Lands Company to redevelop it. It remains a ...
Station Lands (Edmonton)
Downtown Edmonton is the central business district of Edmonton, Alberta. Located at the geographical centre of the city, the downtown area is bounded by 109 Street to the west, 105 Avenue to the north, 97 Street to the east, 97 Avenue and Rossdale ...
,
MacEwan University
, mottoeng =
, type = Public University
, established =
, closed =
, founder =
, parent =
, academic_affiliations = AUCC, ACCC, AACTI ...
,
Edmonton downtown arena
Rogers Place is a multi-use indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Construction started in March 2014, and the building officially opened on September 8, 2016. The arena has a seating capacity of 18,500 as a hockey venue and 20,734 as a conc ...
; Edmonton, Alberta
*
Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport
Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), also called Blatchford Field as well as Edmonton Municipal Airport, was an airport within the city of Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada.
It was bordered by Yellowhead Trail to the north, Kingsway to the south, ...
->
Blatchford, Edmonton
Blatchford is a carbon neutral community being developed on the site of the decommissioned City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta. With an area of , Blatchford is approximately the size of Edmonton's downtown core. It is planned to be a medium ...
, Alberta
*
HOPE VI HOPE VI is a program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is intended to revitalize the worst public housing projects in the United States into mixed-income developments. Its philosophy is largely based on New Urban ...
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
, New York, New York
*
Midtown Detroit
Midtown Detroit is a mixed-use area consisting of a business district, cultural center, a major research university, and several residential neighborhoods; it is located along the east and west side of Woodward Avenue, north of Downtown Detroit, ...
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
,
Western Addition
The Western Addition is a district in San Francisco, California, United States.
Location
The Western Addition is located between Van Ness Avenue, the Richmond District, the Haight-Ashbury and Lower Haight neighborhoods, and Pacific Heights.
...
, and the part of South of Market that become
Moscone Center
The George R. Moscone Convention Center (pronounced ), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three block ...
and
Yerba Buena Gardens
Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and Howard Streets was opened on October 11, 19 ...
in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
*
Pearl District
The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significan ...
, Portland, Oregon
*
Old Port of Montreal
The Old Port of Montreal (french: Vieux-Port de Montréal, italic=no) is the historic port of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located adjacent to Old Montreal, it stretches for over along the Saint Lawrence River. It was used as early as 1611, when Fre ...
, Quebec
*
Downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and ...
Toronto Waterfront
The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west and the Rouge River in the east.
History
Lake Ontario is a recent lake. A ...
, Toronto, Canada
*
West End, Boston, Massachusetts
The West End is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bounded generally by Cambridge Street to the south, the Charles River to the west and northwest, North Washington Street on the north and northeast, and New Sudbury ...
*
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground zero#World Trade Center, Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounde ...
in Lower Manhattan following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
Europe:
*
Canary Wharf, London
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central ...
Edinburgh Waterfront
Waterfront Edinburgh is a redevelopment of parts of Edinburgh along the shores of the Firth of Forth in Granton. There are three main landowners: Arcus (formerly Forth Ports), National Grid plc and City of Edinburgh Council. Since the area ...
, UK
*
Redevelopment of Norrmalm
The redevelopment of Norrmalm ( sv, Norrmalmsregleringen; ) was a major revision of the city plan for lower Norrmalm district in Stockholm, Sweden, which was principally decided by the Stockholm town council in 1945, and realised during the 195 ...
Greenwich Millennium Village, London
Greenwich Millennium Village (GMV) is a mixed-tenure modern development on an urban village model located on the Greenwich Peninsula in Greenwich, in south-east London, and part of the Millennium Communities Programme under English Partnerships ...
(UK)
*
Tigné Point, Sliema
Tigné () is a small village, administratively a former ''commune'', in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On January 1, 2016 it became a delegated ''commune'' within the new ''commune'' of Lys-Haut-Layon.Porta Nuova, Milan (Italy)
Asia:
* Taichung's seventh Redevelopment Zone,
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
, Taiwan
*
Beijing Olympic Village
The Beijing Olympic Village () is a complex of high-rise apartments in Beijing, China, which were opened to the public on July 27, 2008 and closed on August 27, 2008, in conjunction with the 2008 Summer Olympics. As an Olympic Village, it hos ...
, Beijing, China
*
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Sheung Wan is an List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The ...
, China
Central America:
*
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...