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Community, Place and the Economics of Historic Preservation

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Community, Place and the Economics of Historic Preservation community, Place and the Economics of Historic Preservation New Jersey Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony April 27, 1996 Montclair, New Jersey Donovan D. Rypkema Good afternoon and thank you. every place" has to have a location Jacobs, Lewis Mumford, and My job today is to talk about the but I do not believe every location William Whyte notwithstanding, the economics of historic preservation, meets the test of being a “place.” I vital importance of place seems to and I certainly intend to do that. start with that contention from read- be one of the lessons we have large- The statistics about jobs created in ing the titles of some recent works ly unlearned. New Jersey by historic preservation, from which I have taken much of Psychiatrist Winifred Gallagher the addition to household incomes what you will hear today. Listen to has investigated the impact of place here, the overall impact on the local the names of these books: The on human behavior. She writes, “In economy are both impressive and Experience of Place; A Sense of Place; a very real sense, the places in our important and I'll talk about them. The Great Good Place; The Power of lives …influence our behavior in But if we are truly going to appreci- Place; Placeways. ways that we often don't expect.”… ate the economic significance of all These are all authors from differ- [A] good or bad environment pro- of that, we have to start by taking a ent disciplines with different per- motes good or bad memories, which step back - by getting a sense of the spectives. But there are two very inspire a good or bad mood, which context within which economic important common denominators: inclines us toward good or bad change is taking place, by under- first all of them deal with this some- behavior.” She talks about the standing the real factors that affect thing called “place”. And secondly, effect of place on the level of fanta- our local economies. for each of them that place is sy in children, the crime rate, atti- And when we begin to think imbued with something beyond its tudes of office and assembly line about our economies on a sustain- physical characteristics - something workers, and urban decay. able basis in the midst of a rapidly intangible: an experience, a sense, a Sociologist Ray Oldenburg takes evolving international marketplace power, a quality of being good. a very different perspective. we cannot begin with interest rates, Let me return to the definition of Oldenburg contends that human or trade policies, or unemployment “place”. It is something more than a beings need what he calls a “third levels. Instead we must begin with location but what is it? Place has place” - home being the first and the two fundamental concepts that been defined as “a location of expe- work being the second. He is rather will have the biggest impact on the rience”, as “the container of shapes, specific about the characteristics of economics of each of our towns and powers, feelings, and meanings”, as these “third places”. They are filled cities - the concept of place and the “a matrix of energies.” The defini- with people, they are not exclusive- concept of community. Those are tion I like best comes from land- ly reserved for the “well-dressed not the same things, but the under- scape artist Allan Gussow who crowd”, there are abundant places standing of both is central to under- defines place as, “a piece of the to sit, human scale has been pre- standing not only the economics of whole environment that has been served, and “cars haven't defeated historic preservation, but more claimed by feelings.” the pedestrians in the battle for the broadly the economics of the 21st streets.” Just think for a moment century. So why this renewed interest in place? Since Plato and Sophocles about your favorite neighborhood Let's begin with “place”. What is there has been considerable atten- and see if it doesn't meet those tests a “place”? Well first it is not a syn- tion devoted to place. But during - a diversity of people, sitting onym for “location.” A location is a this century we have chosen to among buildings of human scale, in point on the globe; an intersection ignore many of the lessons of the an area that isn't dominated by of longitude and latitude. Certainly past, and the contributions of Jane automobiles. My favorite neighbor- hoods in Washington, New York, Let's move to another area that But this renewed interest in com- Charleston, Boston, Louisville, New has been quietly but very quickly munity isn't limited to writers and Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, emerging within another wide theoreticians. Neighborhood Portland, Denver, Spokane, spectrum of disciplines. Again, like activists, downtown associations, Richmond, Columbus, Milwaukee place, this is a rediscovery rather inner-city housing organizations, all meet those tests and they are all than a new invention. It is the small town development groups are historic neighborhoods. His “third renewed recognition of the impor- surfacing as major proponents of places” include public spaces within tance of a concept called “commu- community in their locales. neighborhoods. He reaches the nity.” The use of this word “communi- same conclusion as does Gallagher There is, in fact, a national move- ty” is certainly not new. In the six- about place and personal safety as ment emerging called ties there was a call to community he observes, “Attachment to the “Communitarianism.” It is lead by in the form of the “power to the area and the sense of place that it the sociologist Amitai Etzioni, who people” movement. But that so imparts expand with the individuals is joined by Common Cause called community was out to save walking familiarity with it. In such founder, John Gardner; advisor to the world; today's community is out locales, parents and their children the President, William Galston; Law to save the neighborhood. That range freely. The streets are not Professor John Coffee, pollster community was naive but also only safe, they invite human con- Daniel Yankelovich and others. The decidedly self righteous; today's nection.” platform of the Communitarians community is realistic and unpre- Daniel Kemmis is the mayor of spelled out in Etzioni's book The tentious without being meek. Missoula, Montana. Kemmis is frus- Spirit of Community is multifaceted That community was ideological trated with political gridlock on the and much of it not germane to this and decidedly on the left; today's local level. But is his solution more discussion. But the definition of community is political but not par- government programs, more mem- “community” is indeed useful: “...a ticularly partisan and is much more bers of his political party in office, place in which people know and “help ourselves” than “you have to or more news conferences? No. care for one another - the kind of help us”. There is nowhere that Instead he takes a wonderful step place in which people do not mere- today's community is growing more back from the cacophony of politics ly ask 'How are you?' as a formality rapidly than in African American and grounds himself to the ground but care about the answer.” and Hispanic neighborhoods in our around him. He writes: (W)hat ‘we’ The stated goal of the communi- central cities. do depends upon who ‘we’ are (or tarians is to “restore communities.” who we think we are). It depends, So we have this interdisciplinary As there is an intangible “sense” group of thinkers, observers, and in other words, upon how we choose that makes a place out of a location, to relate to each other, to the place theorists - independent of one so there is an intangible “spirit” another - who are rediscovering the we inhabit, and to the issues which that makes a community out of a that inhabiting raises for us. significance of place. At the same municipality. time we have another interdiscipli- If in fact there is a connection Others are researching, writing, nary group of thinkers, observers, between the places we inhabit and and talking about this concept of and theorists, joined by some local the political culture which our community as well. Harvard Law activists - who are proclaiming the inhabiting of them produces, then Professor Mary Ann Glendon critical importance of community. perhaps it makes sense to begin expresses concern that “communi- with the place, with a sense of what What almost none of them has ties” are insufficiently recognized recognized is that the two concepts it is, and then try to imagine a way by the court system. Theologian of being public which would fit the - community and place - are insepa- John Snow bemoans rootlessness rable. “Place” is the vessel within place.” Place as the place to begin and the lack of communities to sup- political discourse. which the “spirit” of community is port families. Sociologist Robert stored; “Community” is the catalyst So there are the observations of Bellah and his colleagues contend that imbues a location with a psychiatrist, sociologist, and politi- that reaching The Good Society - the “sense” of place. The two are not cian. But regardless of each particu- title of their most recent book - divisible. You cannot have commu- lar perspective all of these people requires “paying attention” by nity without place; and a place with- reached the same three conclusions: which they mean paying attention out community is only a location. 1) that place has an immense impact to community. Conservative on how we think and act as human African-American organizer Robert I would further argue that the beings; 2) the quality of the built Woodson, moderate Democrat built environment in general, and environment around us is, overall, Congressman David Skaggs, Black perhaps historic preservation in par- getting worse instead of better; and columnist William Raspberry all are ticular is the nexus at which the 3) there has been a marked shift thinking, writing, talking about concept of community and the con- away from the interaction between community.
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