Preservation, Smart Growth, Abandoned/Vacant Buildings and Mills

This week's issue of Smart Growth Online arrived in my mailbox early this morning and, as is often the case, has several items that preservationists should know about. Smart Growth Online, a subset of http://www.sustainable.org, is a service of the Smart Growth Network, and has been developed and maintained by the Sustainable Communities Network (SCN), with funding from the US EPA. Each issue of Smart Growth Online includes links to four or five new published resources as well as summaries of pertinent news items from all over the U.S., and there is almost always something I haven't heard of anywhere else.

Interesting items in this week's issue include descriptions and links to:

-- Built Works, a web resource from the American Institute of Architects' Center for Communities By Design that "demonstrates the expertise architects contribute to community design. Featured projects on Built Works serve as a community design resource and demonstrate the positive impact of thoughtful community design and civic engagement in our nation's communities. Based upon the AIA Communities by Design's 10 Principles for Livable Communities, Built Works contributors discuss project goals, plan implementation process, and the community impact of their recommendations while sharing the community lessons learned. Projects featured on the Built Works website provide architects, citizens, elected officials, and other design professionals with tangible examples of communities energized and revitalized through urban design plans using the AIA's 10 principles. The communities range in size from small towns to entire regions; all involve AIA architects working with communities, elected officials, and other design professionals to improve communities through civic engagement and community design."

-- Revitalizing America's Mills: A Report on Brownfield Mills Projects, a 32-page report from the US EPA "that relates case histories chronicling some of the challenges faced and solutions found during the EPA-supported revitalization of more than 350 mill sites (so far) throughout the nation. The new booklet's contents include a brief history of mills in the United States, followed by case studies of: Textile mills (Taunton, MA and Rock Hill, SC), Wood product and paper mills (Little Falls, MN and Astoria, OR), and Iron and steel mills (Sterling, IL and Johnstown, PA). The new document also includes a comprehensive list of federal, state, and other resources." See also The Institute of Brownfield Professionals.

-- Alan Mallach's new book Bringing Buildings Back (which I've recently purchased, but haven't yet read), which "provides policymakers and practitioners with the first in-depth guide to understanding and dealing with the many ramifications that this issue holds for the future of our older cities. Combining practical suggestions with a thoughtful exploration of policy, Mallach pulls together insights from law, economics, planning, and design to address all sides of the problem, from how abandonment can be prevented to how best to bring these properties back into productive reuse. Focusing on the need for sustainable reuse and revitalization of America's cities and neighborhoods, Bringing Buildings Back shows how finding solutions for individual buildings can and must be tied to the larger process of making our cities economically stronger and environmentally sounder places to live and work. The book is replete with examples of how cities, community development corporations, and others have come up with creative, effective solutions."

Other vacant/abandoned property resources include Vacant Properties: True Costs to Communities (from the National Vacant Properties Campaign) which summarizes research on the costs vacant and abandoned properties impose upon communities and highlights local programs successfully recapturing the value in these properties, and Combating Problems of Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Best Practices in 27 Cities (from the U.S. Conference of Mayors).