Reuse Choice, Flood Risk and Resilience, and Characteristics of Counties with Brownfield Cleanups

Abstract

Limited research has examined brownfields clean-up, reuse choice and associations with flood risk or resilience. This cross-sectional analysis examines counties with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded brownfield cleanups initiated from 2005 through 2009 and assesses the county-level relationship of green reuse with flood risk while accounting for county factors of resources, environmental stressors, race and ethnicity, location, and structural characteristics, as modified from the Gee and Payne-Sturges conceptual model of community environmental health. Flood plain designation predicted a three-fold odds of green reuse alone (OR = 2.96 [95% CI, 1.31–6.66]) and green with other reuses (OR = 2.88 [95% CI, 1.07–7.75]). Green reuse alone was influenced negatively when a county had an eastern or western US location or a larger proportion of population aged 5–24 and positively when population education levels were higher. Among counties with green and other reuse, low education was predictive. Conceptually, decisions for green reuse alone were driven by resources and location while decisions for green and other reuse were driven by resources, location and environmental stressors.