Green redevelopment (GR) is a promising strategy to deal with industrial brownfields, this sustainable initiation usually fails to be implemented practically in China. Thus, investigating the driving mechanism of developer’s GR behavior, as executors of renovation project, is quite essential. The study introduced formative constructs perceived risk (PR) and perceived cost (PC), integrated them with theory of planned behavior (TPB), and extended them by adding two altruistic motives, awareness of responsibility (AR) and awareness of consequence (AC), as moderation variables to explore the bridging role of altruistic motives in GR’s intention–behavior gap. Based on 156 developers-oriented field surveys, the study conducted data analysis through partial least square structural equation modeling. It interestingly showed that subjective norm could primarily affect developers’ GR behavior, while perceived behavior control is not a significant influencing factor. Meanwhile, adding PR and PC as the additional constructs significantly increased the explanatory power of standard TPB model. Furthermore, the conclusion confirmed altruistic motives AR can distinctly adjust the relationship between GR intention and behavior, whereas AC has no such effect. These findings provide a scientific theoretical basis and a targeted path reference for promoting GR of industrial brownfields.

Green regeneration of industrial brownfields (GRIB) is an inevitable choice under the collision of industrial structure adjustment and ecological civilization construction. Due to vegetation destruction and industrial pollution, the integrity and health of the ecosystem in the industrial brownfield have been destroyed and ecological security has become a primary factor in restricting GRIB. In order to explore the impact mechanism of GRIB under ecological security constraints, based on the original data obtained from in-depth interviews with 21 professionals, this study examines the applicability of DPSIR model in GRIB by using the grounded theory method to sort the determinants and explore the impact mechanism of GRIB under ecological security constraints from five dimensions: driving forces (incentive factor), pressure (external factor), state (internal factor), influence (produced comprehensive result), and response (substantive response of human society). Suggestions are made to strengthen the investigation and remediation of environmental pollution in industrial brownfield, cultivate the concept and awareness of green regeneration, and formulate incentive policies. The research conclusions effectively improve the problems existing in the reconstruction of industrial brownfield as well as provide a theoretical basis and targeted reference for the promotion of GRIB.