Is historic preservation relevant to the public and to experts, including scholars? Ever since I entered the field in 1998, my anecdotal experience has been that general interest in the field has been been on the decline, while, at the same time, people who are working in an area directly related to preservation policy (i.e., …
Historic preservation is dead. Long live (cultural) heritage preservation. Read More »
What artificial intelligence (AI) thinks of historic preservation Unless you’ve been sequestered over the past year, you’ve probably heard about the growing controversy on artificial intelligence (AI). A recent example is ChatGPT, a “chatbot” created by OpenAI. To use ChatGPT, you create an account and, through a web based “chat” interface, you ask ChatGPT questions …
A Reparative Call to Change the Administrative Procedure Act Historic preservation is fundamentally a policy-based endeavor, driven by governmental laws, regulations, and guidelines. And because of this basis, it’s also incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to make it more people-centered without some changes to state and federal administrative procedure acts. The fact is that nearly …
It’s Not So Simple to Make Preservation Policy People-Centered Read More »
What is structural racism in relation to governmental policy? Since the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement, there has been increasing discussion on the role of structural racism in public policy. But, what exactly is structural racism in this context? Bailey et al. (2021) offer a concise definition that describes how laws, rules, and …
Before I left my position as an associate professor at the University of Maryland in May 2022, I created a curated list of YouTube conference presentations since 2020 that address diversity, inclusion, equity, justice, and relevancy in historic preservation practice in relation to federal, state, and local government policy. I originally intended these curated presentations …
Presentations that address diversity/inclusion/relevancy in historic preservation policy Read More »
Nearly two decades ago, I became deeply interested in how historic preservation doctrine, represented through orthodox preservation theory and expressed in international and national charters and rules, regulations, and guidelines, manifested as a social justice problem. The core issue is how this orthodox doctrine serves as a means to empower conventionally trained experts (e.g., architectural …
10 Ways Historic Preservation Policy Supports White Supremacy and 10 Ideas to End It Read More »
As I was listening to the session on “A New Framework for Blended Conservation of the Built and Natural Environment” from PastForward 2020 (the US National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual conference), I was inspired to write this post. While the aim of the session was admirable, what I saw were people innately motivated to …
Recently, changes to the City of Denver’s Landmark Preservation Ordinance became effective to allow the designation of buildings and places that have “cultural significance.” This change is, in the words of the City, to increase “inclusion” in the landmarking process and “highlight Denver’s diversity.” While the aims of the amended ordinance are eminently laudable (especially …
Social justice issues come in many forms, including the disproportionate impact that the Covid-19 virus and police brutality have had on African American populations. The law can be both a friend, and often a foe, for achieving justice. In the case of police brutality, qualified immunity gives police immense discretionary power to engage in behavior …
How US law is the cause of social justice issues in historic preservation practice Read More »
In a recent study, Avrami et al. (2018), found 86% of the local historic preservation ordinances sampled across the United States are nearly 100% derivative of the standards for significance and historical integrity found in the federal National Register (NR) of Historic Places guidelines. In my own work, I’ve also found this to be the …
Local preservation ordinances: A one size fits all approach to social injustice Read More »
