Effects of area-based heritage management on demolition by neglect: Comparing rates in historic urban boroughs

Abstract

The approach of American preservationists differs from European heritage management by remaining primarily locally regulated while many European cities practise an area-based approach. Growth management and historic preservation are intrinsically linked but the connections between the two are not fully understood. Local authorities alone do not sufficiently meet the needs to regulate the process of demolition by neglect (DBN). This paper seeks to understand if area-based approaches directly or indirectly affect DBN, expanding on these principles by comparing amounts of neglect in historic urban boroughs with differing amounts of peripheral preserved farmlands. The research compares two historic urban boroughs in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a leading region for sprawling development, historic preservation and agricultural preservation in the USA. The results indicate that, as the amount of preserved farmland increases, rates of DBN tend to decrease, but only indirectly.