Historic Preservation is now playing a role in the “green” movement. Carl Elefante’s speech at PNC’s conference got me hooked and participating in Earth Day at the Schiele Museum intensified my interest in the topic. Linking preservation to the protection of the environment just makes good sense on a number of fronts. I’d like to highlight some environmental benefits of preservation and rehabilitation as noted in a white paper “Making the Case: Historic Preservation as Sustainable Development,” prepared by Patrice Frey. Below are some points made in the paper:
Rehabbing buildings reduces the need for new materials, preserving embodied energy. Energy already expended in the extracting, processing, manufacturing, transporting and assembling building materials, reducing demand for new materials and waste.
Preserving buildings reduces wastes in landfills. Demolition of housing produces and average of 115 pounds of waste per square foot while demolition of commercial buildings generates about 155 pounds of waste per square foot.
Preservation reduces sprawl by reducing pressure for development on the urban fringe, reducing loss of natural habitat, reliance on autos and development of environmentally and costly infrastructure.
Studies show that some historic buildings are more energy efficient than more recently constructed buildings.
Retaining historic windows is often more environmentally friendly than replacement with new thermally resistant windows. There is the opinion that they are named replacement window for a reason, you’ll replace them in about 10-12 years.
It is shown that historic preservation spurs economic development and numerous studies indicate that preservation serves as a catalyst for additional investment.
Dollar for dollar, preservation creates more jobs than new construction, a Rypkema theme.
Historic resources can increase economic competitiveness, helping create a dynamic environment that draws highly skilled workers. Richard Florida speaks of this in his book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” a favorite of mine.
Historic buildings are small business friendly, offering more affordable rents and a good match for the space needs of small business.
Preservation being more labor intensive promotes service-based economic development, creating more growth than new construction.
Improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings makes them more economically sustainable to operate and can be sensitive to the historic fabric.
Preservation likely generates higher wage employment since it requires specialized skills.
Preservation maintains cultural resources and cultural diversity—our “cultural ecosystems.”
Preservation of place promotes psychological well being, essential to our individual and collective identities.
Preservation promotes social equity, including all stakeholders in the planning process.
Preservation encourages social interaction, helping to instill a sense of belonging, trust and civic engagement.
Historic communities are valued for their quality of life. The New Urbanism qualities of neighborhood and design are embedded in historic communities nationwide—old Urbanism.
The media today are really focused on “green” and the protection of the environment. Lately I’ve seen much advertising touting environmentally friendly themes. I think it could best be said by the bumper sticker Preservation North Carolina has for sale HISTORIC PRESERVATION THE ULTIMATE RECYCLING.
