November 2015

Why don’t we care about the public’s understanding of authenticity?

The argument that historic preservation (or, if you’re outside of the United States, architectural conservation or built heritage conservation) is or is not a unique discipline still comes up on occasion in print and in conferences, which is surprising considering that the first degree programs (Columbia University or the University of York, depending on your …

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Second Horto d’El Rey community workshop meeting on November 28

The second in a series of three Horto d’El Rey community workshops is planned for Saturday, November 28 at the G.R.E.S. Preto Velho in Olinda. This particular workshop is specifically for residents of the Amaro Branco, Amparo, and Bonsucesso neighborhoods, which are to the north of the garden. (The first workshop meeting was for residents …

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Is there a job market for built heritage conservation specialists with a social science background?

One of the common perceptions of the social sciences—e.g., perspectives from anthropology, sociology, and psychology—is that that they are too academic, too erudite, and not sufficiently applied to have direct benefit for most people who don’t work in institutions of higher education. Of course, many of you who are reading this blog know that this …

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Are we ready for post-modern public and local history?

One of the researchers that is helping me with my work here in Brazil recently emailed me a course announcement from ANPUH (The National Association of History in Brazil). The course title is “Historical Research in Areas of Architecture and Heritage: Theory and Methods.” You can see the full advertisement for the course at the …

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How should heritage decisions be made?

Recently, I came across a publication from a research project led by an interdisciplinary team of 14 people in the United Kingdom and hosted by the University of Leeds. They tried to answer the deceptively simple question, “How should heritage decisions be made?”, through a participatory research methodology that addressed a wide variety of heritage …

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A Visit to Rio de Janeiro

A few weeks ago, I made a short visit to Rio de Janeiro to talk to heritage conservation planners from IPHAN (the federal heritage conservation organization) and planners in urban development. I wanted to get a better understanding of the overall planning process in Brazil and the nature of public participation. In between my appointments …

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Fixing the Environmental Review Process and Section 106

In the United States, several people have had an unusually large impact on the practice of historic preservation. James Marston Fitch created the first historic preservation degree program; Charles Peterson started the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS); W. Brown Morton, III was mostly responsible for writing the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards; and Pat Parker …

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6th annual conference of the Research Group in Cultural Humanistic Geography in Diamantina, Brazil

This past week I gave the keynote address at the 6th annual conference of the Research Group in Cultural Humanistic Geography (“Grupo de Pesquisa Geografia Humanista Cultural” or GHUM) in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil. I also took the time to attend some of their sessions. From my experiences at the conference, I can definitely say …

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