Policy Performance and Brownfield Redevelopment in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Abstract

The redevelopment of brownfield sites has become a central focus of government efforts aimed at developing and revitalizing urban areas in the U.S. This article examines brownfield redevelopment efforts in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, which gained momentum in the mid-1990s, in order to determine how Milwaukee is performing in terms of redevelopment activities, what the effects of government support of such activities have been, and how performance outcomes are currently being measured. Through an examination of government data and interviews with key stakeholders, the Milwaukee case reveals that redevelopment is indeed progressing well as government becomes more effective at tackling the barriers to private-sector redevelopment. However, progress in redeveloping brownfields is still being measured primarily in terms of economic development outcomes rather than in terms of the broader social, economic, and environmental objectives that both policy makers and private-sector stakeholders associate with such redevelopment.

*The research for this study was funded by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Consortium for Economic Opportunity, through its faculty fellowship program, for which I express my sincere gratitude. I would also like to thank the interviewees, the government officials who provided data, my project assistant Josh Lang, the anonymous reviewers, and the editor.

Key Words:

• brownfield
• redevelopment
• Milwaukee
• outcome
• policy

Notes

*The research for this study was funded by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Consortium for Economic Opportunity, through its faculty fellowship program, for which I express my sincere gratitude. I would also like to thank the interviewees, the government officials who provided data, my project assistant Josh Lang, the anonymous reviewers, and the editor.

¹CUED 2000

²U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1999

³U.S. Conference of Mayors 2000

⁴Simons and Jaouhari 2001

⁵Bartsch and Deane 2002

⁶Dair and Williams 2001

⁷U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2002

⁸Put forward by stakeholders.

Note: Eco=economic; Env=environmental; Soc=social.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher De Sousa

An Assistant Professor