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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2025 Feb 23.
Published in final edited form as: Front Ecol Evol. 2024 Feb 23;12:1–10. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1286150

TABLE 3.

Examples of brownfield cleanup efforts that included design elements to create or enhance ecosystem services.

Location Previous Land Use Current Land Use Ecosystem Services
Pennington Gap, VA Stone Creek Tipple Site Coal mine8 Community park & outdoor classroom Enhancing wildlife habitat; Stormwater and flood control; Recreational benefits; Pollinator benefits; Environmental education; Access to nature
Wilmington, DE Brandywine Village Abandoned Hi-Tech gas station9 Greenspace (permeable parking lot) Stormwater & flood control
Tahoe Vista, CA Snow Creek Stream Environment Zone (SEZ) project10 Restored wetlands Recreational benefits; Environmental education; Access to nature; Climate change resiliency
Palmerton, PA Palmerton Zinc Pile11 450-acres of Native Prairie & Lehigh Gap Nature Center Pollinator benefits; Environmental Education; Recreational benefits
Town of Coventry, RI Former dumping ground12 20-acre Sandy Acres Recreation Area Enhancing wildlife habitat; Stormwater and flood control;
Recreational benefits
Crab Orchard, KY Lincoln Co. Scrap Metal13 Public park Walking trails; Recreation benefits
 Tillamook
County, OR
Veneer Mill14 Protected wetland Wildlife habitat; Stormwater and flood control
Lake Tahoe, CA Concrete Plant15 3-acre parcel of land with native habitat Enhancing wildlife habitat; Access to nature
Brea, CA Abandoned Union Pacific Railroad16 Multi-use trail Access to nature; Environmental education; Recreational benefits
Fitchburg, MA Rubber Factory17 Riverfront Park Enhancing wildlife habitat; Stormwater & flood control; Recreational benefits

Each case study reference (see footnotes) was reviewed by at least two authors to identify the ecosystem services elements listed in the right column. For a list of common environmental benefits/ecosystem services in brownfield cleanup design, see Table 1.