Revealing Synergies, Tensions, and Silences Between Preservation and Planning

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Historic preservation and planning often operate together in the United States within local planning departments, sharing some common roots and a "fragile, uneasy alliance" (Birch & Roby, 1984). Over time, developments in both preservation and planning brought these disciplines and professions closer together, including shared concern for sustainability and common ground in community economic development, revitalization, land use planning, and urban design. Simultaneously, areas of tension and potential conflict emerged. Some preservation-oriented scholars and practitioners call for the expansion of preservation's sphere of influence and concern, while others caution of negative effects. In this literature review, I identify areas of confluence and friction, as well as silences and gaps, focusing especially on planning and preservation literature since the 1980s.

Takeaway for practice: Few scholars have identified what planners and preservationists (and those who do both) can learn from one another, with some important exceptions. Planning scholarship can benefit from understanding how preservation has changed in tandem and in relation to planning. Preservationists can gain much from incorporating contemporary planning theory, especially with regard to participation and building an equity agenda for preservation that builds from preservation's strengths and recent advances toward recognizing a wider, more representative set of historic resources. Both planners and preservationists can benefit from stronger alliances in which scholars and practitioners engage in deeper dialogues and exchange. This interdisciplinary collaboration can unite leadership and vision with regard to equity and social justice, with deeper place-based knowledge to improve the social, environmental, and economic health of communities.

Keywords:

• historic preservation
• community economic development
• land use planning
• urban design
• equity

Acknowledgments

I am deeply thankful for the advice and assistance of Jeffrey Chusid, Michael Manville, Michael Holleran, and four anonymous reviewers for their invaluable contributions to the development of this article. I would like to thank the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor for the opportunity to contribute to the dialogue on preservation and planning and for their role in elevating preservation-related research.

Notes

1 Birch and Roby (1984) note that the third edition of the Urban Land Use Planning, considered a definitive text of land use planning, did not mention historic preservation. By the fifth edition of Urban Land Use Planning (Berke, Godschalk, Kaiser, & Rodriguez, 2006), there were still sparse, but multiple references to historic preservation. While Birch and Roby report that historic preservation joined the ranks of APA divisions, only to be suspended in 1982 for "nonperformance" (p. 194); now urban design and preservation are again united under the banner of one APA division.

2 Other important federal legislation related to historic preservation includes, but is not limited to, the Transportation Act of 1966's 4(f) rule and the Federal Environmental Protection Act, which provide processes of review aimed at mitigating potential adverse impacts to historic resources resulting from federally funded projects.

3 Local governments that have committed to historic preservation can become Certified Local Governments (CLGs). CLGs are officially recognized by a SHPO. Once recognized, CLGs must appoint a local historic preservation commission, maintain an inventory of historic resources, and facilitate public participation in preservation (U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, n.d.). There were approximately 1,900 CLGs as of 2015 (Asbrock, 2015; National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, n.d.).

4 A case study from Providence (RI) illustrates change in both theories of what to preserve and in response to gentrification (Greenfield, 2004). In the 1960s, preservationists identified single-family houses in the College Hill neighborhood for preservation and supported the urban renewal tactic of "spot clearance" of commercial, institutional, and multifamily buildings to stabilize the neighborhood. These tactics were successful in raising property values and drawing White, middle-class residents to a predominantly African-American neighborhood. Alarmed by the growing displacement of African-American residents, some preservation advocates aligned with affordable housing interests in the 1970s and 1980s and fought for preservation of multifamily homes on the grounds of historic significance. Commenting on the activity of preservationists in the 1990s on issues of "land use, the well-being of cities, social diversity, and the construction of an inclusive history," Greenfield (2004) provocatively asks: "Will preservationists be able to combine their socially responsible goals with economic growth, or will they, like their nineteenth-century predecessors, find themselves locked in a battle against the market?" (p. 129).

5 This included the case of Larimer Square in Denver (CO), where entrepreneurialism spurred the construction of a Wild West heritage and combination of urban renewal and preservation to spur tourism (Morley, 2004).

6 The 50-year threshold comes from the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. For a property to be deemed eligible as a historic property, it must be at least 50 years old, unless it meets criteria for exceptional significance. Many local governments have also adopted this 50-year threshold in local preservation ordinances.

7 Some local governments have conducted historical surveys and designated historic districts that are associated with suburban development. For example, the City of Olympia (WA) Historic Preservation Office discusses suburban landscape features such as curvilinear streets and architectural forms such as ranch and split-level homes (City of Olympia Heritage Commission, 2008).

8 See for instance, Jason Roberts's (2012) Ted talk, "How to Build a Better Block."

9 Methods used to study the lifespan and adaptability of building stock range from assessments of building performance and potential for energy retrofits by building typology, to life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost models, to material flow analysis (MFA). LCA techniques provide a method of quantifying environmental impacts of buildings and provide support in decisions about reinvestment or demolition and redevelopment. An LCA analysis was central to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's recent report comparing renovation of existing building stock with new construction (Preservation Green Lab, 2011). Material flow accounting is another method used in industrial ecology to understand the flow of materials between natural systems and the economy (Mingming, 2010). MFA and LCA are related to other systems of environmental accounting, such as calculations of embodied energy and carbon, or ecological, footprint. However, this literature appears to remain largely marginal in planning research and has only recently been incorporated into preservation research efforts. These accounting systems can easily be critiqued for what remains outside the models. LCA does not presently incorporate social equity concerns, and it would be difficult to include all of the social and political considerations that go into the decision of adapting existing buildings versus new construction, such as the value of retaining an existing stock of affordable housing or the contributions of building stock to the character and quality of urban fabric. In addition, the LCA process is information intensive, requiring detailed information about building components, and subject to error when particular materials or assemblies differ from assumptions.

10 Similarly, Lake (2015) argues for the centrality of justice not only as a primary objective in urban planning, but as the primary process or subject of planning. Although justice is distinct from the concept of equity, his central thesis relates to recent attention to equity in planning.

11 Affordable housing projects in historic buildings often use the Rehabilitation Tax Credit (Ryberg-Webster, 2013a), among other federal, state, and local forms of aid that are applied in conjunction with affordable housing incentives such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and New Markets Tax Credit (Tomlan, 2015). With regard to means of increasing housing supply, Manville (2013) and Bullen and Love (2009) describe how Los Angeles’ (CA) 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, which implemented exemptions from minimum parking requirements and flexibility in changes of use, resulted in increased housing supply and decreased vacancies among downtown commercial and industrial buildings.