Contaminated land policy is a key concern of governments and policy makers across the globe, yet discussion has traditionally focused on the particular experience of the United States. This major new book develops a framework for assessing laws and regulations regarding contaminated land and polluted properties, their clean up and reuse, and the assignment of costs and responsibilities for reclamation.In Contaminated Land, the authors, a European and two Americans, lay out a framework for cross- national comparisons of policy contexts as well as ways of examining the outcomes of different approaches to contaminated land and systematically compare approaches to this issue in both the EU and US. The use of this framework leads to a reassessment of specific policies, such as the polluter pays principle, which may be more successful in the EU than it has been in the US, and subsidiarity which, while problematic in Europe, may hold promise in a US application. Specific issues discussed include the nature and extent of the contaminated land problem, legal implications, regulation in the US, the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Liability, Compensation and Reclamation Act, European experience and EU environmental policy, integrated comparative analysis and some lessons for the future. Contaminated Land offers valuable insights on policy responses to the problem of badly polluted land from the perspectives of planning, economics and sociology. In particular, this volume offers frameworks for comparison of different national settings to help determine the preferred and most promising approaches to contaminated land in any social, economic and legal policy context.

Many American cities are now fiscally and economically stronger than they have been in years. However, the task of revitalizing America's cities remains unfinished, as does the challenge of pursuing sustainable development across metro areas and balancing the need for new growth with smart reinvestments in already developed urban areas. Returning urban brownfields to productive community use is a central aspect of both aims. Towards this end, the Department is a principal partner in the Administration's initiative to help communities clean up and sustainably redevelop brownfields -- a priority for State and local elected officials. Our tools include a new Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) to specifically address brownfields redevelopment needs, participating in the Administration's Showcase Communities Initiative, providing technical assistance to State and local governments, and streamlining community development regulations to make them "friendly" to brownfields redevelopment. Expanding our knowledge base and developing new tools is a vital part of our commitment. Consequently, the Office of Policy Development and Research has initiated an active brownfields research and development program. The purpose of our brownfields R&D work is to better understand how brownfields become barriers to revitalization of America's distressed communities and to develop ways to overcome or eliminate those barriers.

These expert case studies focus on ways in which a variety of innovative local economic development programs have been implemented in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Authorities with varied experience show how policies and programs must fit into a political and legal system, meet specific external and environemtnal requirements, serve certain groups and settings, and bring about tangible results. Students and scholars, policymakers and practitioners, economists and businessmen, labor and government specialists, and public administrators will find these case studies illuminating. This comparative study first gives an overview of innovative policies and programs on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The surveys range from South Bend, Indiana, Baltimore, Maryland, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Ruhrgebiet, Germany, West Scotland, Wales, and Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. Among other issues the case studies cover waterfront development, urban revitalization, regional reconstruction, job preservation, and proactive community development.