Greenfield land is a

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

term referring to undeveloped land in an

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...

either used for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

or landscape design, or left to evolve naturally. These areas of land are usually agricultural or amenity properties being considered for

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

. Greenfield land can be unfenced open fields, urban lots or restricted closed properties. They are kept off limits to the general public by a private or government entity. Greenfield sites offer a high degree of freedom for a developer, compared to sites with existing developments. For example, a greenfield site is a welcome opportunity for a

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

operator to choose equipment based on cost and aesthetic parameters, without considering migration issues related to legacy equipment on the site. Rather than building upon greenfield land, a developer may choose to redevelop brownfield or greyfield lands, which have been developed but left abandoned or underused.

Other uses

The term has broadened in scope to refer to

greenfield project In many disciplines, a greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to work within the constraints of existing buildings or infrastructure ...

s, which are not constrained by compatibility with prior work but also lack the benefit of existing infrastructure or testing.

References

Redevelopment Urban decay Urban studies and planning terminology {{planning-stub