Application of the Principles and Considerations of Urban Brownfields Redevelopment (Case Study: An Abandoned Industrial Zone in Hakimiyeh Neighborhood of Tehran)⁕

The proximity of brownfields to the city’s urban fabric, predominantly residential areas, due to urban development, is a severe threat and, at the same time, a vital opportunity to reduce or improve living qualities, such as environmental vitality, dynamism, and security. Despite recent efforts concerning the brownfields’ revitalization, the principles and considerations in their redevelopment process have been neglected. Therefore, the present study seeks to apply the principles and considerations in the redevelopment framework of urban brownfields. The research approach is qualitative, and the method adopted at the theoretical level is meta-synthesis. Accordingly, the principles and considerations were first extracted and compiled from the literature, then scrutinized and applied at the empirical level through the case study method. The principles of “understanding the importance and narrative of the place,” “determining the causes of site obsolescence,” “cleaning up or controlling pollution,” “adapting the secondary use to the site conditions and surrounding context,” “flexibility of the reuse,” “preservation, display and use of identified and valuable elements”, and “preservation and improvement of landscape” with their specific considerations have been applied in the abandoned industrial zone belonging to the Naab Vegetable Oil Factory, located in the Hakimieh neighborhood of Tehran. Fulfilling and implementing these seven principles under the particular conditions of each site is an important step and a fundamental approach in responding to the challenge of the redevelopment of urban brownfields and, subsequently, their planning and design phases.