Looking to repurpose old industrial land?
Brownfield sites—former factories, warehouses, or commercial areas—offer huge potential for solar, battery storage, or redevelopment. They’re often cheaper, already cleared, and close to infrastructure. But they can be hard to spot unless you know where to look.
With Atlas, you can find brownfield sites using real map layers, land use data, and drawing tools. You’ll go from searching vague areas to seeing exact site locations—all in a single map view.
Here’s how to find brownfield sites on a map with Atlas.
What Are Brownfield Sites?
A brownfield site is land that was previously developed but is no longer in use. Think abandoned factories, closed industrial parks, or empty commercial lots.
Because they’ve been used before, they’re not greenfield. But they’re not worthless either—they’re a hidden asset.
Step 1: Add a Land Use or Zoning Layer
The best way to start is with a land use or zoning layer.
You can:
- Upload local land use data from government portals
- Use Atlas’ built-in map sources (like OpenStreetMap land use)
- Bring in a zoning shapefile from your city or region
Look for land classified as:
- Industrial
- Commercial
- Vacant urban land
- Abandoned infrastructure
This will highlight areas where brownfield sites are most likely to exist.
Step 2: Filter or Highlight Likely Zones
Once the zoning or land use layer is on the map, you can:
- Use layer filters to isolate only “industrial” or “vacant” categories
- Change colors to make those zones stand out
- Turn off unrelated layers for a cleaner view
Now you’ve got a focused map showing where brownfield zones are likely to be.
Step 3: Scan by Satellite or Base Map
Zoning layers show where brownfields could be.
To find specific sites:
- Switch to a satellite view in Atlas
- Zoom in on the areas you filtered
- Look for obvious signs: large paved areas, empty buildings, old warehouses, rail access, etc.
You’ll start to see real brownfield candidates you can draw or tag.
Also read: Draw Project Boundary on an Interactive Map
Step 4: Draw or Mark Brownfield Sites
Once you spot a site you like:
- Use the Polygon tool to draw its boundary
- Save it as a new layer (“Brownfield Option A”, etc.)
- Label the shape for clarity
- Optionally add notes about access, nearby roads, or observed features
You can now treat this site like any other parcel—overlaying slope, flood, grid, and more.
Step 5: Add Data Layers for Context
Now that you have a brownfield site marked, it’s time to add context:
- Use OpenStreetMap layers to show roads and power lines
- Overlay flood zones or slope maps
- Import any environmental risk data (if available)
- Add a buffer to show nearby housing, infrastructure, or restrictions
This turns a rough site idea into a full site evaluation.
Step 6: Share or Export Your Site Map
Once you’ve found brownfield options:
- Export a clean site map to PDF or PNG
- Share a live map with your team
- Export your drawn sites as GeoJSON or shapefiles
- Add notes or comments for team feedback
Now everyone’s aligned on where the opportunity is—and why it matters.
Use Cases
Brownfield sites are ideal for:
- Solar development near cities
- Battery storage close to load centers
- Industrial redevelopment or logistics hubs
- Public-private planning or infrastructure reuse
And they’re often under-used simply because they’re hard to find. Atlas changes that.
Tips
- Look for rail access, substations, and large paved areas
- Use historic maps or zoning change layers if available
- Combine with tax or land registry data to check ownership
- Draw multiple sites and compare with filters or tags
The more you layer, the clearer the picture.
Site Search and Evaluation with Atlas
Like most GIS platforms, Atlas can help you look at maps. But when it comes to site search and evaluation, Atlas goes much further.
It’s built specifically for people who need to spot the right land, fast.
Whether you’re scouting for renewable energy projects, industrial expansions, new retail locations, or land investment opportunities—Atlas gives you the tools to compare parcels, overlay key data, and share results with your team.
This isn’t just about seeing what’s on a map. It’s about making a decision.
Let’s break down how Atlas helps you find and evaluate sites more efficiently.
Bring Your Own Data or Start From What’s Built In
Sometimes you already have a list of parcels. Other times you’re starting from scratch.
Atlas works well in both cases.
Upload a CSV with parcel data, or drop in shapefiles from your GIS team. You can also use drawing tools to sketch out potential sites manually. Each shape becomes a layer you can click, label, and filter.
But if you don’t have data, no problem.
Layer Key Data to Evaluate Site Potential
This is where Atlas stands out.
Instead of flipping between different platforms to compare slope, access, zoning, and flood risk—you just layer it all on the same map.
You can:
- Add flood zone shapefiles
- Import elevation and run Slope Analysis
- Draw buffers around power lines or roads
- Overlay wind speed rasters and compare to parcels
- Tag constraints like wetlands or protected areas
Each layer is styled visually—so you can color, label, and toggle visibility depending on what you need to see.
That means less time guessing, and more time seeing.
Also read: Best Way to Map Flood Risk for Development
Style, Filter, and Compare Sites Fast
Atlas makes it easy to surface the parcels that matter.
Need to find all land within 1km of a substation and outside the flood zone and with a slope under 10%?
No problem.
You can filter by overlap, intersect layers, or use visual styling (like heatmaps or range coloring) to compare sites at a glance. This helps you narrow down dozens or hundreds of parcels into a shortlist—based on your actual criteria.
It’s the kind of analysis that would take hours in traditional GIS tools. In Atlas, it’s built in.
Save Views, Share Maps, and Move Quickly
Once you’ve identified viable sites, you don’t want to waste time copying screenshots into slides.
Just share a live map.
Atlas lets you save views with specific layers turned on, annotate them with labels or comments, and export the results as PDFs, images, or shareable links. Your team sees exactly what you see.
Clients, engineers, or investors can explore the map in real-time—without needing a login or software.
Real Teams Use It This Way Every Day
Atlas is used by solar developers, land acquisition teams, consultants, and manufacturers across industries.
They’re using it to:
- Evaluate wind and solar potential
- Compare parcels for land deals
- Screen out sites with slope, flood, or zoning issues
- Plan for infrastructure access
- Report site findings to partners and clients
In short, if your job involves picking land or comparing locations—Atlas makes it easier.
Smarter Site Search Starts with the Right Tools
You don’t need to be a GIS expert to evaluate land like one.
Atlas takes the tools that used to be hidden behind complicated software and makes them available right in the browser.
So whether you’re screening 10 parcels or 1,000, you can see the data clearly, layer what matters, and share results in minutes—not days.
Flood zones? Check. Slope? Done. Proximity to grid? Covered. Team visibility? One link.
That’s what modern site evaluation looks like in Atlas.
Boost Your Workflow with the Right Tools
Site planning moves fast. Whether you're checking slope, flood zones, proximity to power lines, or wind potential—speed and clarity matter.
Atlas gives you both.
In this article, we covered how to find brownfield sites, but that’s just one of many things you can do with Atlas.
From overlaying data to running analysis, styling layers, and sharing maps with your team, Atlas makes complex site evaluation tasks simple and visual. All from your browser. No GIS experience needed.
So whether you're screening parcels, comparing risk, or narrowing down locations, Atlas helps you move from "just looking" to "let’s go" faster.
Sign up for free or book a walkthrough today.
