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Lessons from the 2025 National Brownfields Training Conference
Four Revitalization Strategies to Unlock Hidden Potential in Your Community
Every community has them: overlooked lots, shuttered factories, and forgotten buildings. They sit quietly in plain sight. However, with the right vision and collaboration, these brownfield sites have the potential to become some of a community’s most valued assets.
“Brownfields are really an archeological dig. It’s the layers of our economy,” said Julia D. Novak, ICMA-CM, CEO and executive director of ICMA, speaking at the 2025 National Brownfields Training Conference in Chicago. Novak emphasizes that for local governments, brownfield redevelopment is more than cleanup—it is about creating tangible benefits for the community. “It’s about having an impact on what’s happening right around you … their conversion into housing, businesses, public parks, and health clinics can be dramatic enough for a movie script.”
The possibilities multiply when local governments, agencies, and other community partners come together. John Busterud, nominee for Assistant Administrator at the U.S. EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management, explained, “By listening to and talking with each other, we can get all the ideas out and onto the table. I view that as cooperative federalism and cross-agency partnership in action.”
That spirit of collaboration was clear throughout the conference, where innovators from across the country explored how underused sites could fuel economic mobility, resilience, and livability.
For many communities, the opportunities may be hiding in plain sight. Here are four strategies local governments can use to revitalize and transform brownfields. Continue reading >>
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