Ronda Kaysen reports on the growing trend in transforming brownfield sites in disadvantaged communities into health centers, "in essence taking a potential source of health problems for a community and turning it into a place for health care."
In recent years, communities in Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Oregon and California have seen contaminated properties transformed into desperately needed healthcare facilities, with government tax credits and grants providing the "vital seed money" to make projects feasibile, writes Kaysen. In fact, the practice has become so widespread in Florida that an ad hoc movement led by local government officials, environmental advocates and health center developers, "have toyed with various names for the concept, like Doc in a Box, healthfields and Highway to Healthcare."
As Kaysen notes, "many of the country’s 450,000 contaminated sites, known as brownfields...are disproportionately concentrated in poor communities because contaminated sites are more difficult to redevelop if property values are depressed. Banks are often reluctant to finance construction on a property that might require a costly cleanup."
“It’s a Catch-22,” said Phyllis B. Cater, chief executive of Spectrum Health Services. “The environmental issues are significant and yet there are scarce resources for communities to do the cleanup and remediation that’s required.”
"But if the state or federal government provides the first piece of financing," says Kaysen, "other funders are more likely to fall into step."
And in places like Manchester, N.H., where a 240,000-square-foot ambulatory care facility has replaced a former Tyson meatpacking plant, such facilities can serve as the first phase of a larger redevelopment plan. “When you look at revitalizing a community, these kinds of uses tend to be the first anchors,” said Mathy Stanislaus, an assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.
FULL STORY: Health Centers Find Opportunity in Brownfields

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

Wildlife Rebounds After the Eaton Fire
Following the devastation of the Eaton Fire, the return of wildlife and the regrowth of native plants are offering powerful signs of resilience and renewal.

LA to Replace Inglewood Light Rail Project With Bus Shuttles
LA Metro says the change is in response to community engagement and that the new design will be ready before the 2028 Olympic Games.

Paris Voters Approve More Car-Free Streets
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the city will develop a plan to close 500 streets to car traffic and add new bike and pedestrian infrastructure after a referendum on the proposal passed with 66 percent of the vote.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service