Auto Brownfields: Unique Challenges and Innovative Strategies

As many as 250 closed or closing auto manufacturing and supplier plants are blighting communities throughout America with brownfields, lost jobs and tax base, and economic disinvestment.  These auto brownfields are frequently more than a million square feet in area; many are located in traditional downtown areas; and almost all face severe contamination issues after decades of heavy industrial use.  For many auto communities, the productive redevelopment of these sites is essential to the revitalization of their local economy.  During this session, panelists discuss the primary challenges they face in remediating and redeveloping auto brownfields and outline strategies that have proven successful in revitalizing these sites.