“What Needs to Change?” – Providence Symposium: Whose Places Matter (And Why?)

Many regard the preservation field as being in the midst of a relevancy crisis — its systems outdated, its practices exclusionary, and its practitioners out of touch. In order for preservation to become more accessible and relevant to more communities and to survive into the future, deep change is necessary. But can we reform preservation or do we attempt to dismantle it and build anew? Can preservation ever be an instrument for addressing or advancing equity? What is the social responsibility of preservation, and what does accountability look like? This panel will entertain the possibilities.

Panelists

Desiree Aranda, Co-Chair, Latinos in Heritage Conservation

Catherine Fleming Bruce, Activist and award-winning author of The Sustainers: Being, Building and Doing Good through Activism in the Sacred Spaces of Civil Rights, Human Rights and Social Movements

Sarah Marsom, Heritage resources consultant and organizer of #DismantlePreservation

Jeremy Wells, Associate Professor, Historic Preservation program in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland, College Park

Moderated by: Bonnie McDonald, President and CEO of Landmarks Illinois and Chair of the National Preservation Parners Network of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Click here for more information about the Providence Symposium events. The link below is to register for this session.

Whose Places Matter (And Why?)

The modern historic preservation movement came of age in the era of redlining, urban renewal, and fierce debate about the future of our cities. This crucible of “progress” resulted in more deeply entrenched racial, economic, and philosophical divides and a preservation practice that protected the interests of the privileged and powerful.

Today, we live with structural injustices baked into our society — into the buildings that remain and the very way our cities work. Choices made generations ago are laid bare in our segregated neighborhoods, biased housing policy, generational class inequalities, geographic health disparities, and civic processes that reflect the interests of the few. And in addition to its complicity on these issues, the preservation field has a long way to go in lifting up buildings and landscapes that reflect the full American story.

So where do we go from here? What kind of future do we want for Providence? How do communities participate more fully in the conversations about the shape of our city and the places we celebrate? And what is the role of preservationists in helping to restore healthier, more equitable communities where everyone’s history matters?

This year’s Providence Symposium will explore the systems that have shaped our built environment and the communities that inhabit it. As we heed the calls for urgent institutional change, a field based on the power of preservation must consider how to tear down and build anew. PPS invites community conversation and visioning about which places matter and why.