May 12, 2021
PresPoll Results: Historic Preservation and Affordable Housing
Housing affordability is a crisis level problem. Historic districts are not the cause of the affordability crisis but are disproportionately being affected. Preservationists feel a responsibility to lead efforts to address the issue, but are lacking a wide range of effective tools. Even current tools, ...
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May 07, 2021
Weekend News Roundup – May 7, 2021
HOUSING & GENTRIFICATION This month, we conducted a PresPoll on ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units.) As explained in the survey, we described ADUs as “independent housing units that occupy a lot that is otherwise zoned for a single-family home.” Among the key findings were: preservationists are ...
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May 03, 2021
ADUs in Historic Districts: Providing Affordability and Gentle Density
We were thrilled to see such strong support for the conversion or construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (or ADUs) across the board in results from our latest PresPoll and couldn’t agree more. Among all employment sectors, age groups, and owner/renter households, the highest ranked positive ...
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Apr 23, 2021
Weekend News Roundup – April 23, 2021
GOOD NEWS! We love to see it: Pittsburgh gets a deconstruction policy! On April 20, 2021, Mayor William Peduto issued an Executive Order for the City of Pittsburgh to develop a unified City-led deconstruction policy. The policy is aimed at identifying deconstruction-eligible structures that may ...
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Apr 14, 2021
Results of ADU PresPoll
This poll asked about ADUs – Accessory Dwelling Units. As we explained in the survey, we described ADUs as “independent housing units that occupy a lot that is otherwise zoned for a single-family home.” ADUs may be converted from existing structures such as a garage, ...
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Apr 09, 2021
Weekend News Roundup – April 9, 2021
PRESERVATION POLICY Looking again at the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, preservationists Elizabeth Blasius and Zach Mortice reflect on how a failed plan to landmark the neighborhood might serve as an important lesson for the field in an op-ed titled, “How a Plan to Save Buildings ...
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Apr 02, 2021
Deconstruction & Social Enterprise
As we’ve been saying all month, the benefits of deconstruction reach far and wide. In particular, we love how deconstruction initiatives and ordinances spur creative and socially-minded business and nonprofit models that benefit preservation, local economies, workforce training, and the environment. The following three stories ...
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Mar 26, 2021
Weekend News Roundup – March 26, 2021
Twice a month, we publish a roundup of preservation and city-building news and stories for your weekend reading. It's a collection of articles that our PlaceEconomics colleagues read this month, all in one place for your convenience. If you would like to receive the weekend ...
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Mar 22, 2021
Let’s Talk About: Deconstruction
Over here at PlaceEconomics, we are big fans of deconstruction. It's encouraging to see more and more cities using it to improve safety, create jobs, and encourage materials reuse. We are excited to share some of the larger takeaways from our latest report for the ...
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Mar 15, 2021
Results of PresPoll #8: Deconstruction
March 2021 This month's poll asked about deconstruction. Fundamentally, preservationists are in the business of saving historic structures, not tearing them down. But pragmatic preservationists acknowledge that sometimes historic buildings won’t survive. Rather than accepting that demolition debris go straight to the landfill, preservationists who ...
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