ALABAMA

Regional Task Force

The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (Alabama) has formed a Brownfield Regional Redevelopment Task Force to redevelop brownfields within a seven county region of north central Alabama.

Formalized in February 2004, the task force represents a partnership of institutional, municipal, public service and business sector entities. Member-ship and active participation continue to increase as task force initiatives begin to impact public discussion associated with various development/redevelopment initiatives.

Task force chair and brownfields project manager Bob Wilkerson used the task force’s momentum to advance the original timeline and schedule of deliverables planned for the project. The task force has adopted a philosophy of moving ahead with various grant applications including a smart growth initiative, a pilot project site assessment and a communications initiative.

In June, a grant-writing subcommittee was formed to pursue a funding opportunity that serves a community outreach objective while building a collaborative relationship with The Black Warrior/Cahaba Rivers Land Trust — Five Mile Creek Brownfields Demonstration Project.

As an enhancement to the Land Trust’s project, the task force will continue the community involvement initiative through a series of public charettes. Using site-specific locations identified under the Land Trust program, charette workshops will achieve the following objectives:

• Apply and teach smart growth concepts through the charettes.
• Engage citizens in site-specific redevelopment possibilities through direct involvement with the design process.
• Produce a final product deliverable in the form of design boards and economic development proposals for each of the focused sites, providing a showcasing tool for property owners and community/regional economic development efforts.
• Establish a model for exporting the workshop/charette format to other communities across the region.

This initiative will allow citizens to learn the positive benefits of smart growth, then apply that knowledge through development of conceptual visions for the physical redevelopment of brownfield sites located throughout the Greater Birmingham Region. Through this exercise, citizens will have a voice in the community building process, contributing to the sustainability, physical appearance and overall health of the community.

In addition to grant writing and outreach activities, task force members have focused on increasing knowledge of brownfield redevelopment through attendance of regional and national conferences.

Accordingly, Wilkerson initiated a series of focused presentations known as “Brownfield Forums” providing pragmatic knowledge and understanding in answering the elusive question of “how brownfield deals are successfully achieved.”

Leading professionals in brownfield redevelopment present completed projects, then allow the task force to drive a question and answer discussion. Each forum provides valuable insight and assists the task force with a better understanding of the needs and challenges of redevelopment.

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