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| Downtown Athens, Georgia indigoathens.com |
Today we are revisiting a favorite topic on this blog, "Why Do Old Places Matter?" Tom Mayes, the author of this series, has presented a series of enlightening posts about why we should care about old places, as if we needed any more reasons. Today, this last post of the series, Mr. Mayes shares with us old places matter because of economics. He writes, "Old places support a sound, sustainable and vibrant economy." This statement is not a new idea for this blog. Mr. Mayes's reasons for saving economics for last is , "...the other fundamental reasons for keeping, using, reusing and preserving old places are given short shrift, and professional preservationists often jump right to the argument that saving old places is economically beneficial, assuming that the economic argument the only one decisions-makers will want to hear." Truthfully, using economics as a starting point for arguing why old places matter immediately puts the decision-makers on the defensive, as if that is the only reason. As Mr. Mayes writes, "...if old places are only worth keeping for economic reasons or they can justify themselves economically. And often the economic justification is assessed by narrow and limited economic measurements that don't fully take the broader economic-and other-values of old places into account." (Licciardi and Amirtahmasebi, eds; 2012)
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| Werne's Row 4th and Hill Louisville, Kentucky en.wikipedia.org |
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| Tudor Revival house Buffalo, New York buffaloah.com |
Historic preservation is organized primarily to sustain and create cultural values, like historical associations, sense of place, cultural symbolism, the aesthetic and artistic qualities of architecture and the like. Studying the economics of this (or any other part of the cultural sector) amounts to calculating the incalculable, or pricing the priceless. Economic analyses con easily determine partial or proxy values for the full value historic preservation, but what do these tell us? Are they sufficient or even useful?(http://www.brookings.edu/research/report/2005/009/metropolitanpolicy-mason; Accessed by Tom Mayes Mar. 29, 2015)
This statement is an indication of just how commercialized American society has become, that we must justify saving old places that give a sense of identity and belonging by demonstrating its economic value.
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| Historic King Street location Charleston, South Carolina tripadvisor.com |
The good news is historic preservation is good for the economy. In the last 15 years dozens of studies have been conducted throughout the United States, by different analysts, using different methodologies. But the results of those studies are remarkably consistent-historic preservation is good for local economy. From this large and growing body of research, the positive impact of historic preservation has documented in six broad areas: 1) jobs, 2) property values, 3) heritage tourism, 4) environmental impact 5) social impact, and 6) downtown revitalization (Cheong and Rypkema, 2011)
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| Historic re-enactment Philadelphia, Pennsylvania historicphiladelphia.org |
- Jobs, income, state and local taxes. Rehabilitation of older buildings produces higher-paying jobs than new construction and the money tends to stay in the local economy. Because rehabilitation of historic buildings generally requires a higher skill set, wages produced with rehabilitation generally higher, and remain in the local economy more. As the FY 2012 annual report report on the economic impact of the rehabilitation tax credit states: "Numerous studies conducted by Rutgers University have shown that in many parts of the country, a $1 million investment in historic rehabilitation yields markedly better effects on employment, income, GSP, and state and local taxes than an equal investment in new construction of many other economic activities (e.g. manufacturing or services). (ntcic.webfactional.com/rutgers/ Accessed Apr. 5, 2015)
- Heritage Tourism. Whether people go to old places to experience the awe of the sacred or transcendental beauty, for incomparable opportunities to learn, to spur their imaginations or
simply to experience a place that has maintained a sense of distinctiveness, old places are destinations for tourism, and have been so for millennia. The economics benefits of heritage tourism are unparalleled. As Donovan Rypkema has said, "Wherever heritage tourism has been evaluated, this basic tendency is observed: heritage visitors stay longer, spend more per day, and, therefore, have a significantly greater per trip economic impact." (Rypkema, Keynote Address, May 5, 2007) The World Bank report, The Economics of Uniqueness, emphasizes that heritage tourism is an important economic development strategy, particularly because "tourism development...requires less capital, infrastructure and skilled labor." (Licciardi and Amirtahmasebi, Eds. 183, 2012) And there's the sustainable benefit-for everyone-of saving a community's sense of history, distinctiveness and identity.
Three Arts Club
Chicago, Illinois
chicagoarchitecture.org - Revitalization. For decades. older communities have used their historic buildings and streetscapes as assets for revitalization, providing a greater diversity of income and cultural background in neighborhoods, increasing property values, increasing job opportunities. (See
Donovan Rypkema's discussion in The Economics of Uniqueness, 125-38). As the website for the Main Street program says, "the cumulative success...of the Main Street program on the local level has earned a reputation as one of the most powerful revitalization tools in the nation." (http://www.preservationnation.org/main-street/about-main-street/reinvestment-statistics-1.html#.VSGWPoIh6sE; Accessed Apr. 5, 2015
Jane Jacobs was right.
nypl.org - Attracting talent and investment. According to the World Bank report The Economics of Uniqueness, "[heritage-related projects] contribute to urban livability, attracting talent, and providing an enabling environment for job creation." As Richard Florida and others have emphasized, creative people are the talent that drives the new economy, and creative people are attracted to places that have authenticity. Businesses located in places that are perceived of as good places to live, with a sense of authenticity, have
an edge in attracting talent and investment. Or as the World Bank report puts it: "...heritage is differentiator that attracts talent to cities." (The Economics of Uniqueness, xxiii)
So was Richard Florida
nyu.edu - Property values. One of the main purposes cited in preservation statues as a rationale for historic preservation is that it stabilizes and supports property values. Studies throughout the United States show that historic districts maintain their value during times of real estate devaluation, such as the recent recession and recover more rapidly. (http://placeeconomics.com/resources/publications; Accessed Apr. 8, 2015)
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| Older, Smaller, Better report cover oldersmallerbetter.org |
This just a brief summary of the economic benefits that older places have to offer, yet as Tom Mayes writes, "...it makes a powerful and forward-looking case for the economic benefits of keeping and reusing old places." Blogger could fill bookcases with studies and reports that support and provide anecdotal evidence for these conclusions. When combined with all the other benefits-including hard to economically quantify benefits-the deep need for keeping and retaining old places is a given.
Like Tom Mayes, blogger rejects the idea that everything in life has to be reduced to dollars and cents. However, let us, for a moment, consider the possibility that these reports could capture full value of the positive affects of older places on people: "...the sense of identity and belonging, the awe of beauty, the creativity and imagination." Priceless.
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