How Many Brownfields Exist?

The U.S. General Accounting Office estimates there are in excess of 400,000 contaminated commercial and industrial sites in the United States. A national, state or even a local inventory of brownfield sites does not exist. In St. Louis and East St. Louis, the number of sites is believed to be in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 properties. This wide range in the estimated number of sites is indicative in brownfields redevelopment. Problems such as identifying common criteria that are used by everyone when calling a property a brownfield to resources required to properly inventory and keep up with all properties thought to be brownfields, lead to the "rough estimating" of brownfields in this community as well as in most country. In addition to the issues above, there are many reasons that inventories of brownfields are not created, but the one overarching reason is the potential stigma, either real or perceived, that comes when a property is identified as a brownfield. This stigma can have a long lasting effect on the ability to market and redevelop many urban properties.