This is Part 1 of 2 articles that can help you understand your community's values toward historic resources. Part 2 describes How to Match Your Advocacy Efforts to Your Community's Historic Preservation Values.

Every community has its own values. To make a case for historic preservation in your community, you'll need to understand your community's values about its historic resources and what it might take to preserve them. A case for preservation that is effective in Milwaukee or Madison won't necessarily work in Dodgeville or Racine or La Crosse. The size of a place, its economic base, whether or not municipal staff are available, and the degree of community leadership all influence whether good things happen to great historic resources — or not.

Evaluating Your Community

The following list contains 10 community characteristics that can help evaluate your community's values on historic preservation. Read through each item and rate your community on a scale of 1 to 10. Total all 10 items to arrive at your community's percentage out of 100. When you have evaluated your community on all 10 characteristics, go on to Part 2 to learn how to match your advocacy efforts to your community's values.

1. General Appreciation for History

   Communities that appreciate stories about their local history are more likely to support historic preservation through economic incentives, private investment, heritage tourism, and other actions. Signs that your community appreciates its local history include historic designations, history and house museums, historical societies, books on local history, bookstores with local and regional history sections, heritage tours, historic information placards posted throughout the community, and wayfinding; signage that includes historic information. Your preservation efforts will probably be easier if your community has this built-in support system.

   On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a community that displays many signs of appreciation for local history, how would you rate your community?

2. Local Economy

   While preservationists understand that historic preservation activity makes sense when the economy is bad, others are less likely to see it that way. When times are bad, historic preservation can too easily get lumped into the category of "things that would be nice to do when we get back on our feet." A poor local economy can be a major threat to historic preservation if:

   • Good information is not coming from the preservation community and the media.
   • Your local government has not embraced historic preservation as a tool for economic revitalization.
   • The local development community does not know how to make money using local, state, and federal incentives to develop historic properties.

   On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a vibrant local economy in which historic preservation is a preferred method to spur revitalization and economic development, how would you rate your community?

3. Local Government Leadership

   Leadership from local government is a huge bonus for preservationists. In communities with strong government leadership, historic government buildings tend to be well cared for and properly reused, and local incentives support private investment. In addition, historic preservation commissions get government support. In contrast, an unsupportive local government can hinder grassroots preservation efforts. In an unsupportive environment, government can seem deaf to the best preservation arguments.

   On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a local government that has fully embraced historic preservation as a primary community value and is willing to stand up for preservation's value in the face of easy solutions, how would you rate your local government?

4. Economic Incentives

   The economic incentives for historic preservation that your community has offered property owners will help make your preservation case for other local buildings. Even communities that are supportive of historic preservation in general don't always understand its potential in terms of economic development. Some common economic tools that are used to develop historic properties include:

   • Tax increment financing (TIF)
   • Transfer of development rights (TDR)
   • Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
   • Affordable housing tax credit

   On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a community that offers multiple economic incentives for preservation, how would you rate your community?

5. Press Coverage

   The press can be an extremely important ally of preservation advocates. On the other hand, lopsided coverage of preservation issues can undermine your advocacy efforts. A supportive press network will do the following:

   • Report regularly on local history
   • Cover history and historic preservation issues without an alert by your group
   • Provide balanced coverage of historic preservation threats
   • Work directly with preservation organizations to understand the bigger issues
   • Attend your events when you invite them

   You will likely need to work with your local reporters to achieve this public relations utopia, but it is possible.

   On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being frequent and positive press coverage of historic preservation issues, how would you rate your local press network?

6. Nonprofit Network

   The nonprofit organizations in your community can offer your group a network of potential allies. Your current and future community partners can help you present your preservation message to large groups of people who care about similar issues. They can also share the costs and responsibilities of hosting fundraising events and completing critical projects. Potential partners might include strong neighborhood associations within historic districts, affordable housing advocates, urban leagues, and the local chapters of the American Institute of Architects or the American Planning Association.

   On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being an existing strong network of allied nonprofit organizations, how would you rate your community's nonprofit support system?

7. Openness to New Ideas

   During an economic crisis or a major government overhaul, communities often adopt penny-pinching measures and begin thinking more strategically about the community's future. These measures can be a benefit to your preservation message. If your community is struggling to reduce the local unemployment rate, your government officials may be searching for ways to attract new employers. If your community has recently had a change in government leadership, the new officials may be looking for ways to leave their mark on the community.

   You can evaluate whether your community is open to new ideas about community planning by checking the status of your community's smart growth or comprehensive plans. By state law, all comprehensive plans must include a cultural resources element. Does your community's comprehensive plan include only boilerplate language or does it show a sincere effort to plan for your community's cultural resources? Is your local governing body considering any major community plans, such as a revitalization of the town's downtown or waterfront, that include a preservation element?

   On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your community's openness to new ideas about community planning?

8. Appeal of Your Historic Resources

   Advocating for preservation can be more difficult if your local buildings or historic places are not visually appealing and residents can't immediately recognize their historic value. For example:

   • Your community may have great examples of modern architecture that simply don't match most people's ideas of historic buildings.
   • Your community's historic buildings or places may be in particularly bad condition or perpetually vacant.
   • Your community's historic buildings or places may be common or plain.

   If your historic buildings fall into any of these categories, you may have a harder time selling your preservation message. Your group will have to identify the historic value of these buildings and be able to effectively communicate that value to the community. Note that some communities without a lot of historic resources can still be very supportive of historic preservation — perhaps because they place a greater value on their scarce historic properties than communities with an abundance of historic properties.

   On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the appeal of your community's historic resources?

9. Neighborhood Support

   Different neighborhoods in your community may have distinctly different characteristics that will affect their level of support for preservation. Your group may have a difficult time persuading neighborhood residents to prioritize preservation if you do not understand the priorities of the people who live and work in a particular neighborhood. For example, in a neighborhood where many residents are barely making ends meet, it may be difficult to convince people to put their time and energy into saving a historic building.

   In a neighborhood with a large number of renters, it may be difficult to sustain support from the transient population for a long-term project. Landlords may see little incentive in improving historic buildings if they believe it will raise their property taxes. Small business owners in a commercial district may have a similar view if they do not understand preservation's potential economic benefits to their business. The key to securing support in different neighborhoods will be your group's ability to understand each neighborhood's unique characteristics and find common ground with the residents.

   On a scale of 1 to 10, how easily can your advocacy group find common ground with the residents and business people in different neighborhoods of your community?

10. Your Preservation Group

    The diversity of backgrounds and experience that exists in your preservation group will play a role in your success. Factors that contribute to your diversity include age range, professional and social background, community engagement, and connections and relationships with the local power structure (government, developers, philanthropists, the media, etc.). A good board will include a full array of talent and expertise, including a lawyer, an architect, and people who are politically connected. What your group looks like and who it attracts will affect your community's perception of your group.

    On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a preservation group that is diverse and connected to the community, how would you rate your group?

    To find out how you can shape your preservation work and messaging to your community, continue to Part 2: How to Match Your Advocacy Efforts to Your Community's Historic Preservation Values.

Learn More

Historic Preservation Advocacy Guide

Find more how-to articles about historic preservation advocacy.