University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 2013 The Social Effects of Preservation: Social Wellbeing and the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program in Philadelphia Ellis Miller Mumford University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Mumford, Ellis Miller, "The Social Effects of Preservation: Social Wellbeing and the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program in Philadelphia" (2013). Theses (Historic Preservation). 217. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/217 Suggested Citation: Mumford, Ellis Miller (2013). The Social Effects of Preservation: Social Wellbeing and the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program in Philadelphia. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/217 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Social Effects of Preservation: Social Wellbeing and the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program in Philadelphia Abstract This thesis was intended to begin to fill in a gap in preservation literature by beginning research in Philadelphia and evaluating how, if at all, historic preservation affects social wellbeing. By considering tax credit investment alongside various statistical measures of social wellbeing in Philadelphia census block groups, this study tested some hypotheses about the power of preservation in community revitalization. The primary hypothesis tested is that historic preservation activity improves social wellbeing in Philadelphia. More specific hypotheses include: • Historic preservation improves the physical appearance of neighborhoods. • Historic preservation reduces crime, especially building-specific crime such as arson and graffiti. • Historic preservation preserves affordable housing. • Historic preservation creates more educated communities.