University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 2016 Certifying Preservation: How Preservation Can Introduce Social Sustainability to Building Certification Programs Andrea Kathryn Haley University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Haley, Andrea Kathryn, "Certifying Preservation: How Preservation Can Introduce Social Sustainability to Building Certification Programs" (2016). Theses (Historic Preservation). 615. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/615 Suggested Citation: Haley, Andrea Kathryn (2016). Certifying Preservation: How Preservation Can Introduce Social Sustainability to Building Certification Programs. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/615 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Certifying Preservation: How Preservation Can Introduce Social Sustainability to Building Certification Programs Abstract When sustainability is discussed in the built environment it is often limited to environmental sustainability, however, there are many other values that should be considered. The field of historic preservation offers ways to incorporate social and cultural sustainability into the built fabric of cities and communities, but is often misrepresented or viewed as a niche field. This thesis explored how historic preservation can learn from the ‘green building’ movement which has risen to prominence to become a large part of the building culture in a relatively short period of time. One of the most well-known tools is the USGBC’s LEED Certification, which, along with other certification programs, is examined to determine the possibilities and challenges of creating a voluntary third-party certification program as a method to raise awareness and promote preservation values in projects, and thereby incorporate social and cultural sustainability in the built environment. Such a program has the potential to be an additional tool to create holistically sustainable projects, but requires market demand to create major impact. Additionally, the creation of such a program requires more exploration into many challenges found here, including evaluating intangible and subjective values. Keywords sustainability, LEED, adaptive reuse, social capital, building culture Disciplines Historic Preservation and Conservation Comments Suggested Citation: Haley, Andrea Kathryn (2016). Certifying Preservation: How Preservation Can Introduce Social Sustainability to Building Certification Programs. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/615 CERTIFYING PRESERVATION: HOW PRESERVATION CAN INTRODUCE SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY TO BUILDING CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS Andrea Kathryn Haley A THESIS in Historic Preservation Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION 2016 ______________________ Advisor David Hollenberg Lecturer in Historic Preservation ______________________ Program Chair Randall F. Mason Associate Professor Dedication For Bilasa ii Acknowledgements Thank you to everyone who helped and supported me during my time at Penn. A huge thanks to my advisor, David Hollenberg, who put up with me while I made it through the thesis process. Also thanks to my family and friends. Your craziness helped keep me sane. iii Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction and background ........................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 3: Existing Preservation Tools and their limitations ......................................................... 31 Chapter 4: Third‐party Certification ............................................................................................... 47 Chapter 5: Potential Program Scope.............................................................................................. 58 Chapter 6: Organizing institution and management ..................................................................... 74 Chapter 7: Description of major challenges and conclusions ........................................................ 86 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 106 Index ............................................................................................................................................ 111 iv List of Figures Figure 1 ‐ Model of intersecting circles of sustainability. .............................................................. 10 Figure 2 ‐ Model of concentric circles of sustainability. ................................................................ 11 Figure 3 ‐ The Circles of Sustainability model. ............................................................................... 12 Figure 4 ‐ Compiled table of selected social sustainability metrics .............................................. 15 v Chapter 1: Introduction and background How we encourage private development to include public benefits can be challenging in a capitalist society where maximizing profits indicates success. Sustainability is becoming more integral in the design of much of the built environment today and will play a growing part in how our cities are designed and operated. There are a variety of incentives and arguments for creating environmentally sustainable buildings, reflected at all scales of construction. As the concept of sustainability evolves, other areas of sustainability should be consciously incorporated in the built environment. Social and cultural sustainability are playing an increasingly large role in the evolution of cities, and having direct impact on the quality of life for residents and workers. Historic preservation offers a way to incorporate the values of a place, even, if not especially as they evolve. Preservation tools focus on identifying, protecting, and appropriately reusing historically significant structures. That is what registers were created for, and also the main aim for important legislation such as Section 106 review. Designated buildings that deserve protection are important to the continuation of significant cultural resources. While such tools will continue to play a critical role in saving cultural resources, these only address approximately 5% of the nation’s built fabric. Preservation methodology can still be beneficial to undesignated buildings, not necessarily as a protection measure, but as a philosophical framework for a stewardship mechanism to guide future development. Through evaluation, assessment, and subsequent integration of existing social and cultural dimensions in renovation and reuse projects, preservation can bring unaddressed dimensions of sustainability to projects. Preservation is a lens through which to look at the context, history, and demographics of an area, which can be critical for older neighborhoods as they face new development. Guiding projects and incorporating the values of a place into new projects can coalesce to create more sustainable communities, neighborhoods, and cities. Traditional tools of preservation are not addressing the majority of buildings or neighborhoods. By not including preservation in the majority of buildings, the field does not have a major impact on the greater building culture, even though the benefits it can confer are not only related to historically designated structures. With the current structure of historic designations and recognitions in the US, buildings with the highest national or local importance have tools to guide stewardship and change. However, not every place has the same level of importance. Many existing places provide aspects of sustainability, including environmental, economic, social, and cultural areas of sustainability, but they do not all convey the same level of historic significance. Treating all existing properties equally for historic significance does not make sense. Preservation needs new tools to impart benefits to a wider range of projects. Flux is essential for a healthy and dynamic city, however, extant fabric does not need to be sacrificed for change. Healthy communities are built upon the past, and progression is a continual process that learns from what is existing. Non‐historic resources, particularly structures that are ineligible for an historic register, can play an important role in continuing the feelings, connections, and other intangible aspects of a place. Sustainable development requires cultural and social dimensions, and preservation can act as a vehicle for identifying and including these aspects. The U.S. Green Building