Urban Planning and Historic Preservation of Landmarks

Introduction: Preservation and Urban Development

In recent years, the preservation of history has continued to develop and, some say, has matured. Historic preservation now assumes a real role in how property development takes place in communities throughout the country. The National Historic Preservation Act and other preservation statutes have a strong impact not only on how the government deals with its own undertakings, but also on how elected officials license and fund projects and planning by private, state, and local organizations. Recently, several research studies have addressed examples of notable preservation and their success, including work by the leading urban market analyst Edward Glaeser and by the architect Rem Koolhaas. Glaeser is an economist who specializes in urban development. While he concedes that preservation has value, he argues in his book Triumph of the City and in a recent article, "Preservation Follies," that landmark preservation may limit improvement, raise costs, and undermine the basic identity of urban communities (Byrne, 2012).

Glaeser suggests that urban high-rise density permits a greater number of individuals from diverse economic backgrounds to reside in attractive urban areas. In his view, urban areas flourish when they have numerous small firms and talented citizen artisans. Glaeser frequently expresses concern that land use regulations limit new development, raise housing costs, and exclude lower-income individuals. He points out that one key aspect of development restriction is that regions subject to historical preservation regulations tend to become more expensive as well as more exclusive. The fundamental economics of housing planning are essentially those of simple supply and demand. Although Glaeser writes admiringly about New York City, his prime example of optimized historical regulation is Houston, Texas (Birmingham, 2010).

A fundamental concern is how historic preservation can retain historical value without placing undue burdens upon any socioeconomic group — for instance, by allowing "gentrification" to force out long-time, and possibly low-income, residents. Legal frameworks concerning historical preservation seek to strike a balance between the rights of the property or land owner and those of the general public, and in some cases the broader public interest in preserving history. Renowned urban areas where historical preservation is prominent include, for example, the city of Charleston, South Carolina. Certain areas of Charleston have very strict codes governing details as specific as the color and type of paint homeowners may use. While seemingly restrictive in nature, these regulations have led to considerable growth in the area, including a thriving tourist population drawn to the historically preserved environment. Legal provisions such as the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause assist homeowners and property owners with "just" compensation, so that the burden of complying with historical development rules and policies is not wholly borne by the owner when there is a significant element of public good involved.

During the last century and earlier, United States law was slow to regulate historical assets. However, initial efforts did lead to the creation of the immense and remarkable national park system, which includes predominantly areas open to full public access. In terms of preservation of historic buildings, that effort was, by contrast, predominantly undertaken by private individuals (Rice, 2013).

The researcher Rudy Koshar has focused on issues of historical preservation in Germany, scrutinizing how preservation does or does not relate to national and ethnic identity (Frenkel, 2004). It is possible to recognize that a monument may be worthy of preservation and yet not necessarily be representative of the broader "national group." Preservation is understood as simultaneously safeguarding that which is historically relevant and that which offers an understanding of a particular historical era and its people. Considerable theoretical discussion has focused on how some "national landmarks" are not actually representative of any given national character; perspectives drawing on post-structuralist artistic theory and social studies have featured among many elaborate scholarly expositions (James, 2009).

References

Aiden While. 2006. "Modernism vs. Urban Renaissance: Negotiating Post-war Heritage in English City Centres." Urban Studies, Vol. 43, No. 13, 2399–2419, December 2006.

Birmingham, Rebecca. 2010. "Smash Or Save: The New York City Landmarks Preservation Act And New Challenges To Historic Preservation." Journal of Law and Policy 19, 271. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews, EBSCOhost.

Byrne, J. Peter. "Historic Preservation And Its Cultured Despisers: Reflections On The Contemporary Role Of Preservation Law In Urban Development." George Mason Law Review 19, (April 1, 2012): 665. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews, EBSCOhost.

Dennis, Rodwell. "Urban Conservation in the 1960s and 1970s: A European Overview." Architectural Heritage XXI (2010): 1–18. Edinburgh University Press. DOI: 10.3366/arch.2011.000.

Frenkel, Ammon, and Daniel E. Orenstein. 2012. "Can Urban Growth Management Work In An Era Of Political And Economic Change?" Journal of the American Planning Association 78 (1): 16–33. doi:10.1080/01944363.2011.643533.

James, Jason. "Retrieving a Redemptive Past: Protecting Heritage and Heimat in East German Cities." German Politics & Society 27, no. 3 (September 2009): 1–27. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

Rice, Robin D. "By What We Have Destroyed: Historic Preservation And The Preservation Of Individual Property Rights." University of Louisville Law Review 52, no. 1 (Fall 2013): 153–197. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

SPAB. "The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings."