Resident’s preferences for urban brownfield revitalization: Insights from two Czech cities

Residents’ preferences are one of the factors in deciding how brownfields should be revitalized. We compare the views of residents in a city with many brownfields (Karviná) with those in a city with only few brownfields (České Budějovice). We assessed the preferences of residents for four global regeneration alternatives (refurbishment, demolition, open space, (re)development) in three different areas of a city (city centre, inner city, city outskirts). A one percent population sample of two post-socialistic cities in the Czech Republic, was used for the comparison. Positive preferences towards brownfield regeneration were confirmed. We found spatial differences in preferences between refurbishment and demolition of brownfields in each city area: demolition was preferred for inner city brownfields whereas refurbishment was preferred in the city centre and outskirts. Differences were also identified between the two cities: residents of the brownfield rich city preferred demolition, whereas residents of the city with few brownfields preferred refurbishment. Creating new public open space, for residents′ recreation, was given a lower importance within the city centre and a higher significance in outskirts. With the support of a combined ANOVA model, significant differences in residents’ preferences were found for distinct types of regeneration with regards to the cities’ character, the location of brownfields within the city and residents′ proximity.