The project proposed here deals with the design and construction of a prototype information
distribution system to promote the redevelopment and sustainable utilization of brownfield
sites in Lucas County, Ohio—with particular attention devoted to maximizing the connectivity
of these sites to one another, to surrounding business locations, and to the regional
transportation network. As a result, this study not only plans to promote the localized
characteristics of these sites, also but how they are interconnected through the transportation
infrastructure. The project will feature additional components in the information
distribution system with the assembly of a detailed repository of data dealing with
the sites themselves, zoning, surrounding land uses, connections to local business
establishments, local population characteristics, utilities and municipal services,
and the connections to the regional transportation infrastructure—including weight
limits, Hazmat routes, intermodal connections, geometric design characteristics and
infrastructure characteristics (e.g., at-grade rail crossings, bridge clearances,
signalization, etc.).
The contents of the repository will be delivered in an interactive web-based information
delivery system that uses online maps, query functions, information display in the
form of popup text boxes, and basic routing and network linkages between sites and
the transportation network. In addition, the site will provide detailed contact information
to local governments, commercial real estate firms, and related organizations pertaining
to brownfield redevelopment and regional economic development. The approach used in
this project will be modeled after the project team’s previous work in the Great Lakes
Maritime Information Delivery System (GLMIDS) (see http://maritime.utoledo.edu).
As a result, users will be able to search for desired site locations through query
functions that provide prompts for entry of desired site characteristics; the system
will then search the database to display all sites on an online map that meet those
desired site specifications. Additional details dealing with connectivity to the transportation
network, intermodal connections (e.g., Airline Junction), zoning, local business establishment
locations, etc. will also be furnished for those sites if desired. In other cases,
transportation planners and economic development analysts can use the detailed database
to identify infrastructural improvements to better connect brownfield sites and major
links in the transportation network. These applications are only two of many other
potential uses for this system.
An added benefit of this system will be that it can serve a wider range of needs for
economic development efforts in the county, given the volume and detail of the repository.
This resource is therefore envisioned to provide comprehensive support to economic
development efforts in Lucas County, and will assist potential developers and business
officials with site selection for industrial, warehousing, and related economic sectors.
In addition, the system can aid in transportation planning efforts for infrastructural
improvements to assure more efficient access to a wider range of brownfield sites
and to improve connectivity to the wider transportation system of the region. If proven
successful, the GISAG project team will propose an extended system covering a wider
geographic area.
