The examination of the sustainability of brownfield investments paying special attention to public policies and EU support

According to the economics of welfare the need (or necessity) for state intervention starts when people experience market failures [Pigou, 1920], the goal and reason for state intervention is usually to develop the welfare of people. Studies of actual state interventions show that not only the market but state interventions can fail as well [Wolf, 1988]. The rehabilitation and revitalization of the unused industrial sites represent new development possibilities and a serious challenge to public policies. The question is how to minimize the cost of industrial changes, when industry has lost its function in some areas and it had a negative effect on people. In my study I will try to show the value of the effect and success of these policies without which economic growth is impossible, and which make brown field investments sustainable. In my opinion rehabilitation requires an interdisciplinary approach and one need to pay special attention to the rule of the local and country governance, and the ways of redistribution and financial support both from the European Union and the national state. For long term sustainability it is essential to avert the environmental damage, but without any government help it will not be successful and sustainable.