A pilot case study of brownfield high‐density housing development in China

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the transformation of inner‐city sites previously developed for industry use in Chinese city, which is driven by the unique social, economic and political settings in China featured by the emergence of the market mechanism for urban land use. The existing body of knowledge about urban brownfields suggests a lack of understanding and information about the transition‐led inner‐city brownfield development in China. Design/methodology/approach - This paper adopts a case study approach using the R&F high‐density apartment project in the inner‐city of Guangzhou built on a former chemically polluted site to provide factual evidence for the state of inner‐city brownfield development in China. The paper identifies institutions, processes and practices that are related to the reclamation of inner‐city brownfield sites for high‐density residential use and preliminarily assesses its impact. Findings - The paper suggests that, although issues about environmental impact appear to be carefully treated during the project execution, much less care is given to pre‐construction and post‐occupancy phases. There is also a serious lack of specific standards and policies that are designed for governing the issues directly related to inner‐city brownfield development. This could have substantial impact on the land use in China's major cities, but it has not been paid sufficient attention. Practical implications - This paper shows that there is an urgent need to design and develop policy and industry standards specifically address inner‐city brownfield development. Originality/value - The paper confirms the need for more careful treatment to inner‐city brownfield projects that are being “fast tracked” due to the pressure for high‐speed economic growth and the demand for inner‐city housing. This paper also contributes to the initiation of basic criteria that help identify inner‐city brownfield projects for more comprehensive investigation to further evaluate impacts of China's economic transition on its urban built environment.