Historic Preservation Enhances Quality of Life, Produces Economic Benefits

The University of Florida's Levin College of Law, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and Bureau of Economic & Business Research (and other UF programs) recently completed a collaborative study that confirmed historic preservation enhances quality of life for Floridians. The report, entitled Contributions of Historic Preservation to the Quality of Life in Florida, includes models and tools available to further historic preservation in Florida and to measure the impact of historical structures, events and related activities on the enhancement of the quality of life in Florida. As noted in a UF press release, examples of model communities and projects are sprinkled throughout the report: DeFuniak Springs and Fernandina Beach are described as communities whose historic roots lure tourists and improve the economies of their regions. The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum; the Fort Christmas Historical Park in Central Florida, and the Riley House museum near Tallahassee are provided as case studies of how how history museums can be important community resources. The report also describes conservation districts in Tampa, Sarasota, and Zephyrhills that offer ways for local governments to balance historic preservation through protection, rehabilitation and revitalization, all contributing to a neighborhood's culture. Those interested can download .pdfs of both the Research Report Executive Summary (40 pages) and Research Report - Technical information.

The UF quality of life study builds on The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Florida, a one-year research study previously completed by the Center for Governmental Responsibility and the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University. Available documents include the Research Report Executive Summary, News Release with key findings, and Research Report - Technical information.

As our students know, many other states, including Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, have completed studies documenting the economic impacts of historic preservation. Links to many of these statewide studies and similar reports are available on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's web site.

Additional information and summaries of some of the reports to which I did not link are available as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Dollars and Sense of Historic Preservation series (www.preservationbooks.org).