Historic preservation is the practice of identifying and conserving, often through legal ordinances, historic properties, buildings, homes, public spaces, and other historically meaningful sites. Planners and policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels are often tasked with balancing the preservation of historic resources with the housing and infrastructure needs of growing cities.
All Historic Preservation Courses
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
The 2011 documentary film “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” documents the rapid rise and fall of a housing complex in St. Louis. Pruitt-Igoe became a symbol for the failure of public housing policy in the late 20th century.
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
What makes good public spaces work, and why are some public spaces underused? Over the course of this film, William Whyte details insights into seven basic factors of successful public spaces: suitable space, interaction with the street, the sun, food, water, trees, and, finally, a term Whyte calls triangulation, or the ability of a public space to bring people together.