Open Day for Brownfields Held in Zenica

The Open Day for brownfields was held on Wednesday at the Zenica Development Agency (ZEDA). It provided an opportunity for visitors to tour the brownfields in the Zenica Business Zone 1 and learn more about the benefits of transforming abandoned industrial facilities into new, modern, and active centers for economic development in local communities.

Representatives from businesses, urban planners, students, and development experts had the chance to learn firsthand about the prospects of the free Zenica brownfield—the remaining 20,000 square meters of unprivatized space in the Zenica Business Zone 1.

The panelists included Sanja Stević, Project Manager from the Eco Forum; architect Lejla Brljevac, Head of the Urban Planning Department; Aida Pašalić-Uzunović, an expert from ZEDA; Mladen Perić, President of the Zenica Employers' Association; and Amra Mehmedić, Assistant Mayor for Economy, City Property, and Development Management.

The Open Day event, titled "From Brownfield to Zenica Business Zone 1," was organized by the Eco Forum as part of the project "Reindustrialization based on the principle 'Brownfield is Better than Greenfield'—Brownfield is Better than Greenfield—ReInd-BBG," funded by the European Union through the Interreg program for the Danube region. The Eco Forum, as one of 16 project and six demonstration partners from a total of eight countries, aims to contribute to reducing socio-economic and administrative fragmentation in spatial, economic, and living environments in municipalities and cities across the Danube region through territorial demonstrations of desirable transformation processes.

Project partners, each in their own capacity and expertise, are making efforts to establish sustainable industrial and economic activities at six pilot locations.

Brownfield is Better than Greenfield

By revitalizing existing brownfields or activating degraded land or water surfaces for industrial or production-oriented purposes, we can reduce the pressure on biodiversity and the construction of new industrial zones in greenfields—areas untouched by economic activity. This approach aims to avoid the use of new spaces or land closure and further loss of biodiversity.

Revitalizing a degraded area through reindustrialization not only preserves greenfields but also offers local communities an opportunity to attract new investments and jobs, thereby stimulating their economic and social prosperity.

As full partners in this project, six municipalities and cities are participating: Hrastnik, Zenica, Sombor, Rešica, Vraca, and Nikšić, which face similar challenges and ambitions due to very similar circumstances in their development and transition. These municipalities and cities will directly benefit from the project by receiving support (both practical and strategic) in designing and implementing reindustrialization projects within their communities based on the principle that "brown is better than green," as well as integrating new priorities into their territorial and development strategies.

The necessity for brownfield revitalization is emphasized by a series of European directives and strategies, primarily the Territorial Agenda 2030, which advocates for “reducing land consumption” and “building strong and sustainable local economies.” In our case, this is also reflected in the Development Strategy of the Zenica-Doboj Canton 2021-2027, and the new Development Strategy of the City of Zenica.

The Zenica Business Zone 1 is an example of successfully transposed regulations from the European Union and Danube region countries regarding their territorial, developmental, and ecological components.