Accounting for greenhouse gas emissions in greenfield, greyfield and brownfield precincts

This paper analyses the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of three distinct urban arenas: greenfields (new suburban developments), brownfields (post-industrial sites with compact development around transit), and greyfields (middle-ring suburbs with low-rise infill), in the sprawling city of Perth, Western Australia. Analysis of the 50-year emissions reveals that the greyfield case study, composed mostly of single-level detached and attached dwellings, has the lowest emissions, slightly lower than the brownfield case study, which comprises mostly apartments, indicating that density is not the sole predictor of emissions. Nonetheless, the greenfield case studies have much higher GHG emissions, particularly influenced by house size.