Historic Preservation and Rightsizing: Current Practices and Resources Survey

By Donovan Rypkema and Cara Bertron

Older industrial cities possess irreplaceable assets: well-built houses and neighborhoods, rich histories, and local pride. At the same time, these cities face significant challenges associated with long-term population loss. A glut of abandoned houses and vacant land, absentee landlords, struggling commercial corridors, aging infrastructure, and a lack of financial resources are tangible evidence of decades of depopulation and disinvestment, compounded by the recent foreclosure crisis and its consequences.This report examines cities' responses to these challenges, what resources are used, and how historic preservation-which builds on local assets-fits in. Municipal planning and preservation staff and preservation advocates in the twenty older industrial cities with the highest proportional population loss (1960 to 2000) were surveyed for an on-the-ground look at long-range planning and rightsizing, or the process of reshaping physical fabric to meet the needs of current and anticipated population.Survey results indicate an urgent need for a comprehensive, locally tailored approach to long-range planning, better federal tools to support that planning, and a more effective strategy to integrate historic preservation into planning decisions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1477566341
• ISBN13: 9781477566343
• Release Date: June 2012
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 28 Pages
• Weight: 0.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.1" x 8.5"