New Faces in Historic Preservation: Exploring the Rust Belt’s ‘Young Preservationist Movement’

In the 1960s and 1970s, many local preservation advocacy organizations formed, largely in reaction against urban renewal-era demolition and a rising popular concern for the historic built environment. Over time, preservation has become intertwined with profitable real estate development projects, the urban growth machine and broader neoliberal urban development agendas. For instance, historic districts can protect and increase property values, at times functioning as a NIMBY tools to prevent unwanted development or increased density. And, debates continue about preservation’s relationship to gentrification and affordability. In many locations, long-time non-profit preservation advocacy organizations have come to promote preservation as a development tool, adopting more moderate approaches and finding ways to work with, rather than against, mainstream development forces. Today, rust belt cities face similar levels of demolition that some compare to urban renewal (in terms of funding and number of buildings targeted). Mimicking preservation organizing in the 1960s/1970s, a new generation of activists have coalesced into a “young preservationist movement” in rust belt cities. Our research explores these next-gen preservation activists, asking if and how they present a new challenge to the dominant neoliberal urban development agenda, which has embraced traditional preservation practice. We specifically ask: (1) Why are these new groups forming?, (2) Who are the leaders of this movement and what are their motivations?, and (3) How are these groups affecting change in preservation planning, processes, and/or activism? We find that these groups use innovative means to advocate for saving buildings, but broader socioeconomic and physical changes inherent in rust belt cities underpins their formation. The new “young preservationist” leaders are trained preservationists, but the broader movement is attracting a wide range of individuals. Finally, synergies and tensions between “young” and “old” vary across cities, with implications for their ability to affect change, and questions remain about the sustainability and evolution of these new activist preservationists.