The quality of physical spaces remain high on consideration when people choose where to live or set up businesses. Growing demand for character-rich space has led to more interests in preserving and restoring historic downtown areas in America. However, there are several challenges faced in the practices and processes of preservation. One of them is the demolition of buildings to make way for higher capacity on highly valued land.
Emerging challenges show that the landscape of preservation has changed over the last 50 years, and the traditional processes of preservation in America may not be meeting current needs. The preservationist highlighted two challenges faced: firstly, the core preservation tools do not serve all kinds of preservation well and may actually undermine the broader mission. Secondly, the current financing mechanisms for supporting building rehabilitation are not robust enough.
Decisions about what buildings to conserve, and how to preserve them, have been passed on from generations. The quality of place and the preservation of the people’s collective stories are important in shaping the economic opportunities of struggling communities.
Read the full article on CityLab: Why Historic Preservation Needs a New Approach
Analysis:
The general challenge of how societies preserve old buildings and identities amidst development is common. However, the specific challenges are localised. This author highlights the approaches that are not working, and provides recommendation of what could be done more. It is interesting to see the English system that she had brought out as an example of where Americans could draw inspirations from. In this system, they categorise historical buildings in three levels of importance, and these levels guide the way the buildings are treated by planners accordingly.
It is also wise to recognise that the decision of saving buildings has to take into consideration the other social needs of the local communities, such as affordable housing, and economic development. Some buildings have greater cultural value than others, so preservationists have to listen to stakeholders and manage differing perspectives too.
Questions for further personal evaluation:
- How different are America’s preservation challenges from Singapore’s?
- What is the value of conserving historical buildings?
Useful vocabulary:
- ‘boon’: a thing that is helpful or beneficial.
- ‘fallow’: unproductive
- ‘monolithic’: large and characterless
- ‘purist’: a person who insists on absolute adherence to traditional rules or structures, especially in language or style
Picture credits:https://pixabay.com/photos/the-hague-holland-netherlands-2633750/