Historic designation and the rebuilding of neighborhoods: new evidence of the value of an old policy tool

Ijla, Akram; Ryberg, Stephanie R.; Rosentraub, Mark S.; Bowen, William M.

doi:10.1080/17549175.2011.635262

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The perception that historic preservation will spur gentrification dates to the 1970s, when higher income residents, often described as “urban pioneers,” began to seek out and renovate architecturally interesting urban neighborhoods (Laska & Spain, ; Lees, Slater, & Wyly, ). Recent scholarship documenting that historic districts do, in fact, tend to raise property values intuitively supports the idea that low‐income populations, particularly vulnerable renters, might get pushed out of historic areas (Coulson & Lahr, ; Coulson & Leichenko, ; Leichenko, Coulson, & Listokin, ; Mason, ; Ilja, Ryberg, Rosentraub, & Bowen, ; Shipley, Jonas, & Kovacs, ) . Since all housing units produced via RTC investments must be rentals, the perception that renters will be victims of gentrification in historic areas seems plausible.…”

Section: Rtcs and Richmond's Postindustrial Transformationmentioning

confidence: 94%

The Landscape of Urban Preservation: A Spatial Analysis of Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits in Richmond, Virginia

Ryberg-Webster

2015

Journal of Urban Affairs

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Historic preservationists tout the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit (RTC) as one of the nation's most successful urban revitalization programs, but minimal research exists on the local use of this private‐sector, market‐responsive tool. Using geocoded data on RTC investments in Richmond, Virginia that occurred between 1997 and 2010, the research explores the city's RTC geography, finding that these investments are most intense in the central city, but have centrifugally diffused outward over time. The research shows that RTC investments are contributing to Richmond's postindustrial transformation, offer a measure of resiliency in the recently volatile real estate market, and function as a de facto housing policy without directly resulting in gentrification. The research offers policymakers improved understanding about the urban geography and spatial effects of RTCs and outlines potential policies that can capitalize on and further encourage these private‐sector investments.

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Section: Rtcs and Richmond's Postindustrial Transformationmentioning

confidence: 94%

The Landscape of Urban Preservation: A Spatial Analysis of Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits in Richmond, Virginia

Ryberg-Webster

2015

Journal of Urban Affairs

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“…Studies demonstrate that historic designation has a positive effect on property values, including a strong spillover effect (Coulson and Leichenko, 2001;Ijla et al, 2011;Zahirovic-Herbert and Chatterjee, 2012), although a few reach the opposite conclusion (Heintzelman and Altieri, 2013;Noonan and Krupka, 2011). Sohmer and Lang (1998: 425) argue that historic resources offer a competitive advantage as 'the authenticity historic buildings represent is marketable in an environment that all too often features routinized and formulaic development'.…”

Section: Historic Preservation As Urban Revitalisationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Historic preservation in declining city neighbourhoods: Analysing rehabilitation tax credit investments in six US cities

Ryberg-Webster

Kinahan

2016

Urban Studies

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Historic preservation is common practice across the world, including in US cities. At the same time, population decline, economic distress and vacancy prevalent in declining cities, also known as legacy, shrinking or post-industrial cities, creates a pressing threat to a vast array of urban historic buildings. In the USA, recent planning and policy emphasises strategic demolition and/or targeting resources in potentially viable neighbourhoods, with little attention paid to historic preservation. To fill this gap, we use a comparative case study of federal historic rehabilitation tax credit (RTC) investments from 2000 to 2010 across the neighbourhoods of six legacy cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Providence, Richmond and St. Louis. This is the first study to use disaggregated, longitudinal RTC data to analyse investment at the neighbourhood scale. We use the Hirschman-Herfindahl Index to evaluate investment concentration and US Census 2000 data to characterise neighbourhoods where developers chose to undertake RTC projects. The findings show that RTC investments occurred across a wide range of places, including very lowand low-income neighbourhoods, and produced both market-rate and affordable housing across each city's neighbourhoods. The findings indicate that preservation occurs across a wide range of legacy city neighbourhoods and inform urban planners and policymakers about locations where the private sector is willing to invest with favourable financing.

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“…Other studies investigate whether designation’s impact differs by context or property attributes (e.g., Noonan, 2007). Only a few studies include multiple markets in the same analysis (e.g., Ijla et al, 2011; Leichenko et al, 2001). Their mixed results showed heterogeneity in price effects without much evidence to support why effects differ.…”

Section: Historic Preservation’s Impacts On Property Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Price of Preserving Neighborhoods: The Unequal Impacts of Historic District Designation

Oba

Noonan

2020

Economic Development Quarterly

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Policies affecting cultural assets are popular yet imperfectly understood tools to shape local economic development. Historic preservation policies, for example, can have markedly different implications for original residents, prospective residents, and developers, even in the same city. Therefore, merely identifying its average effect can obscure important heterogeneity in its impact. This study examines the property value impacts of local and national historic districts across the distribution of property prices and how those differential impacts vary with the restrictiveness of the policy. A quantile regression model identifies the heterogeneity of effects among higher and lower end properties. The results reveal large differences between national and local districts, interior and buffer properties, and for different property values. These findings highlight the importance of and complexity in how housing markets react to attempts to guide local economic development.

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Historic designation and the rebuilding of neighborhoods: new evidence of the value of an old policy tool

Cited by 14 publications

References 27 publications

The Landscape of Urban Preservation: A Spatial Analysis of Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits in Richmond, Virginia

The Landscape of Urban Preservation: A Spatial Analysis of Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits in Richmond, Virginia

Historic preservation in declining city neighbourhoods: Analysing rehabilitation tax credit investments in six US cities

The Price of Preserving Neighborhoods: The Unequal Impacts of Historic District Designation

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