The term brownfield was originally used in construction and development to
reference land that at some point was occupied by a permanent structure. In a
brownfield project the structure would need to be demolished or renovated.
Today, the term brownfield project is used in many industries, including
software development, to mean to start a project based on prior work or to
rebuild (engineer) a product from an existing one.
Brownfield and Greenfield Land Previously developed land or brownfield land is land that is, or was, previously occupied by a permanent structure (excluding agricultural or forestry buildings) and associated fixed surface infrastructure.