Brownfields are former industrial or commercial properties that are vacant or underused and that may be contaminated.  Most Ontario municipalities have brownfield sites, such as decommissioned petrochemical plant locations, dry cleaning establishments, gas stations, railway yards and factories.

The primary purpose of developing a Community Improvement Plan for existing and previous older industrial areas is to identify brownfield sites, assist the City to identify and implement a range of potential finance, liability and approvals tools which are available to support planning and redevelopment activities, help meet eligibility requirements for Federal and Provincial funding assistance programs and to highlight the benefits that can be achieved when brownfield sites are redeveloped.