Brownfields As an Element of Green Infrastructure for Implementing Ecosystem Services into Urban Areas

Vegetation-covered urban brownfields provide a number of ecosystem services to help tackle current urban challenges, such as preventing a loss of biodiversity, adapting to climate change, and fostering recreational and healthy urban environments. However, the potential benefits for urban areas can only be realized if such brownfields are accepted as vital elements of the urban green infrastructure. The paper addresses the potentials of different types of green urban brownfields to provide particular ecosystem services with an outstanding relevance for the urban environment and the life of local residents, and looks at how these services can be best exploited in urban areas. Based on literature reviews, climate modeling, and a survey, research findings are presented on habitat services, microclimatic regulation services, and recreational services for various types of green urban brownfields. Differences in the quantity and quality of these services can be stated according to the specific and varying vegetation inventory and structural parameters of green urban brownfields. Scenario modeling of the preservation and development or transformation of brownfields into green spaces are used to illustrate the potentials and trade-offs of land-use changes in urban environments. Additionally, the provision of ecosystem services is influenced by the different options of green spaces for reusing brownfields. The paper closes with a discussion of some approaches to implementing these findings in urban realities. (C) 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.