Graduate Capstones and Terminal Projects

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Browsing Graduate Capstones and Terminal Projects by Author "Adams, Shawna"

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    Preservation identity, ideals, and expertise : outcries outcasts and outcomes in preservation's livability debate
    (University of Oregon, 2005-06) Adams, Shawna
    Historic preservationists and other placemaking professionals act with the intention of influencing the physical environment, or of the way in which people understand and relate to their physical surroundings. They act purposefully to affect particular and desirable outcomes, which have disparate impacts on the built environment and citizens' lives. Within the public sphere, desirable outcomes are often understood in terms of the general public good or interest-or more specifically, in terms of"livability" (Pacione, 2001). The ideal of livability serves as the objective and the justification for placemaking policies and practices in the land use arena. This study aims to establish a framework in which critical interrogation of the preservation profession and its assumptions is both possible and integral to practice. Analysis is subjective, self-reflective, and self-questioning: who are we as professionals, what are our philosophies and ideals, and how do these philosophies both help and harm the publics we serve? The study explores the manner in which the preservation community acts on its concern for a more democratic and culturally inclusive sphere of activity and how it establishes professional relevancy and legitimacy in what I refer to as the "contemporary context." The study also considers which preservation outcomes are desirable and undesirable, which desirable outcomes are deemed relevant, and how desirable outcomes measure against one another in terms of their relative value and significance.