When it comes to brownfields, idleness is generally an unflinching roadblock. Contamination can be cleaned. Approachable site owners can be persuaded into redevelopment. But idle sites with passive owners are an incurable problem inhibiting full-capacity land use. One innovative strategy to combat brownfield idleness is interim use.

The concept of interim use proposes temporary, community-conscious use of brownfield properties whose redevelopment is not imminent. Ideally, these interim uses are designed to be mobile or impermanent so they can be re-located when end-use development begins. In times of economic downturn, these interim use projects present a more economically viable alternative to permanent end- use development, since interim use requires significantly less startup capital.

Examples of such interim use projects on brownfield sites include mobile food stands, community gardens, farmers markets, public event spaces, and interim use parks. Case studies of interim use projects in the United States have looked at a food cart hub in Portland, Ore., an interim-use public park (Los Angeles State Historic Park) located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, and a mobile agriculture project in Chicago called City Farm. In exchange for site utilization, property owners are generally provided financial and technical assistance to conduct site assessments – a costly process that intimidates many property owners, causing them to leave their sites vacant or idle.

While there have been a few documented cases of successful interim use in the U.S., there are currently many bureaucratic institutional roadblocks inhibiting interim use from becoming a widely-used land use strategy in America. These challenges include property owner willingness, zoning restrictions, financial restrictions, and communication with the community clarifying the temporary nature of the project.

Achievable solutions
Failing to acknowledge these challenges can doom interim use for disaster—as evidenced historically by People's Park in Berkeley, Calif., which ended in a messy clash between site owners and interim users. There are, however, realistic and achievable solutions available to overcome these challenges. By analyzing strengths and weaknesses of past interim use projects, as well as an interim use model used successfully in German cities such as Berlin and Leipzig, cities in the U.S. can adapt German strategies and examples to fit the American mold.

In Germany, states and cities have sponsored studies to determine the capacity for interim use projects on their local brownfields. From these studies, searchable databases were created to help pair potential interim users with potential property owners. A few hours south of Berlin, the city of Leipzig has been at the forefront of interim use in Germany since the late 1990s. Leipzig experienced mass demolitions after the reunification of Germany, and many of the structures that were left standing were quickly abandoned due to the surrounding squalor.

Public showcase
The city faced even greater barriers to redevelopment since 80% of the vacant land and buildings within Leipzig belonged to private owners, 90% of whom did not live in Leipzig. In response, the city hired interim use coordinators to fast-track interim use projects by orchestrating all the administrative and bureaucratic action necessary for interim uses.

The city avoids the issue of miscommunication by requiring all interim users and site owners to sign authorization agreements before the project begins. These agreements are contractually binding, and explicitly detail the parameters of the project. Leipzig has also marketed interim use projects by hosting public showcases to expose the community to the benefits of interim use. At these showcases, the city provides citizens with educational materials, sample plans, budgets, and site recommendations in efforts to catalyze more active interim use within the community.

Food (carts) for thought
In Southeast Portland's historic Sellwood neighborhood, brownfield owner Mark Gearhart turned his idle property into a bustling hub of food carts that are popular among the neighbors and surrounding business community. Prior to the sites revitalization into the food cart hub, Gearhart's property was fueling urban blight by lying vacant and being fenced-off.

In 2007, Gearhart took the initiative to transform his vacant lot into a bright, welcoming space with picnic tables, lighting, utility hookups for the food carts, and a storage shed for the cart owners' perishable ingredients. This case exemplifies the intent of interim use as the site has expanded the local tax base, spurred local wealth generation, engaged the surrounding community, revitalized a previously vacant space, and maintained mobility (all of the food carts can be easily re-located).

As indicated by the German examples, interim use has the ability to be a widespread and successful redevelopment tool in cities if there are local forces pushing the initiatives forward who genuinely want to see interim users paired with site owners. While cases of interim use are still rare in the U.S., the recent examples of successful projects in Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago provide a precedent for interim use to be regarded as a feasible vehicle for brownfield redevelopment.

The spirit of interim use is collaborative: pairing interim users with site owners, navigating through bureaucracy, and engaging the community. This collaboration has the power to reverse urban blight, and rapidly transform idle properties into interactive community areas, wealth generators, and green spaces. In a time when communities are stressed to their financial breaking point, low-capital ventures such as interim use projects are some of the quickest and simplest ways to keep communities actively engaged while simultaneously redeveloping brownfield properties.

Whitney Hawke recently graduated from Occidental College with degrees in Politics and Urban & Environmental Policy. In the fall she will attend Lewis & Clark Law School. She is also the Co-Founder and Business Manager of Brave Recs, an independent record label located in her hometown of Portland, Ore. She can be contacted at whitney.hawke@gmail.com