From the
Patricia H. Gay
DIRECTOR
“We shape our buildings and they in turn shape us.” -Winston Churchill
Preservation and Disaster Recovery
At this writing, we have just rung the bell opening the New York Stock Exchange and are planning to return in a few days for PRC’s seventh fundraising event in New York. Because of Hurricane Sandy, we have been focusing anew on how preservation is an important component in recovery from disaster, even if the buildings are not historic. The same principles work for newer buildings as older ones and for all neighborhoods as well. PRC is pleased to share its experience in our storm recovery, as others are doing, and will be making a contribution to the New York Landmarks Conservancy and to Rebuilding Together New York from the proceeds of the fundraiser. Love of neighborhood and city played a very important role in New Orleans’ Katrina recovery from the time the canal walls collapsed and flooded three quarters of the city. Our advice when asked about preparing in advance for disaster is to be sure, first of all, that you have already in place neighborhoods and a city that people love. This happens when a historic preservation ethic has been in place, officially or unofficially. Newer neighborhoods need thriving older neighborhoods; all help define the city, providing a unique identity essential for drawing people back for the hard work needed for recovery. Another quite obvious preservation principle important in recovery is to recognize and value the investment that homeowners have in their homes. An initial instinct might be to demolish a flooded home where personal belongings are a total loss and damage to the structure seems impossible to repair. As preservationists well know from decades of restoring blighted properties, often these damaged properties are well worth restoring rather than demolishing and building new. It is important for homeowners to do whatever they can to reclaim the investment they have made in their home, the most important investment for most people in their lifetime. Recently there have been some articles about the social cohesion that some neighborhoods have and how that social cohesion has helped them recover from adversity. I believe the built environment plays a role in strengthening this social cohesion and the resilience of a neighborhood. Prof. Eric Klinenberg, in an article in The New Yorker, compares two neighborhoods in Chicago where, although having similar demographics, one had 10 times as many deaths during the prolonged heat wave as the other. In examining the two, he established that the neighborhood that suffered 10 Preservation in Print • february 2013
Friends of PRC applaud after Executive Director Patty Gay rings the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on January 8, 2013. From left to right: New York Stock Exchange Euronext Managing Director Thea Pagel, New York Landmarks Conservancy President Peg Breen, PRC Board Member Janet Tallerine, Gay, Rebuilding Together New York Executive Director Chelsea Muller, Historic House Trust of New York City Chairman John Gustafsson and New York Stock Exchange Euronext Vice President Gregg Krowitz.
far less was a neighborhood where there was much more interaction among neighbors, reflected in the presence of “sidewalks, stores, restaurants, and community organizations that bring people into contact with friends and neighbors.” People took care of each other. I feel sure the built environment played a role in this phenomenon. Where people care, it is reflected in the built environment — a strong, highly visible message is sent that this is a good place to live, and things continue to get better. Another Chicago neighborhood provides an example of this phenomenon, as covered in an article in the New York Times recently. The Chatham neighborhood is presented as one of cohesion and resilience, filled with residents who love their neighborhood and their neighbors. The neighborhood was greatly challenged by a tragic and senseless shooting of a resident, who was much respected there and recently welcomed back after returning from military service. Such an event might lead to more despair, anger and non-productive action, yet the neighborhood has pulled together and is overcoming this tragedy. Writer Benedict Carey talks about the family values in the neighborhood and about how residents work together to achieve common goals, and he also relates the built environment with its uniformity of building size and types — what could be called a sense of context, even if
subconscious. It isn’t over, but there is hope and determination in the neighborhood. The Chicago neighborhoods cited as cohesive and resilient — Chatham and Auburn Gresham — have something in common: they both include recently designated National Register Historic Districts full of bungalows. There are many ways that preservation efforts and results assist in recovery from disaster, especially when the value of the historic built environment is understood, including the importance of “rebuilding right.” An example is the impressive preservation network, which was invaluable to us at PRC after Katrina, as preservationists from all over the country, often at the behest of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, came to New Orleans to help us recover. It is also instructive to consider how the built environment plays a role in more intangible factors, such as civic awareness and involvement, and the social cohesion and resilience referred to in each of these examples of neighborhoods suffering from disaster, whether natural or man-made. As Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings and they in turn shape us.” Until the mid-20th century, neighborhoods everywhere evolved over centuries of experience to be as livable, productive, convenient and culturally rich as possible. It is those neighborhoods, and new ones acknowledging those values, that are the most likely to survive when faced with disaster. www.prcno.org