A plan to preserve one of Chicago’s most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods ended in failure when it could not generate community support.
The Pilsen neighborhood, home to Eastern European immigrants in the 19th century and later to newcomers from Mexico, includes ornate “Bohemian Baroque” buildings with brilliant murals expressing the area’s Mexican heritage. The city proposed establishing a historic district to protect more than 850 buildings in Pilsen, but was not able to assuage concerns from neighborhood residents.
The historic district was a part of a larger preservation strategy that included housing supports, economic development measures, park space, and more. Other than some financial support, though, the other measures stalled, prompting suspicion in the neighborhood.
Residents strongly opposed the strategy, fearing that landmarking would not provide relief from displacement and gentrification. Part of the problem: design guidelines on how historic building elements had to be maintained according to the district’s standards were never completed and the city could not present a good estimation on the costs of building repairs nor on the value of incentives that would be available to make repairs.
An important lesson for preservationists is the need to partner with more community development organizations, social justice organizations, housing developers, and planners.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Apr 16, 2015
New York tops U.S. cities in walkability
Revitalization pushes Detroit and New Orleans up the rankings
Green | Apr 14, 2015
USGBC will recognize energy and water standards for the Living Building Challenge
This move means that projects achieving the energy and water requirements in Living Building Challenge will be considered as technically equivalent to LEED.
Codes and Standards | Apr 14, 2015
New York City preparing new codes for evacuation elevators
New York City’s Fire, Buildings, and City Planning Departments in New York are writing rules to govern occupant-evacuation elevators, reflecting a change in philosophy of how to evacuate people from skyscrapers in an emergency.
Codes and Standards | Apr 12, 2015
California imposes stringent new water standards
California is the first state to adopt standards that are more efficient than those set by EPA's WaterSense program.
Codes and Standards | Apr 12, 2015
Virginia surpasses Florida for strictest hurricane building codes
Virginia has edged out Florida as the state with the most stringent hurricane building codes, according to the Institute for Business and Home Safety’s “2015 Rating the States” report.
Codes and Standards | Apr 6, 2015
Industry groups petition for change order reform on federal projects
Nine design and construction associations ask for assurance that funds available for additional work.
Codes and Standards | Apr 6, 2015
DOE releases Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines
The guidelines are aimed at strengthening and streamlining commercial building workforce training and certification programs for workers in energy auditing, building commissioning, building operations, and energy management.
Green | Apr 3, 2015
Georgia may ban use of LEED on state buildings
Georgia's state legislature is considering a measure to require all state buildings to only use green building standards that permit the use of Georgia's lumber.
Codes and Standards | Mar 29, 2015
Elevator shafts a major source of heat loss in New York City
A typical New York apartment building loses thousands of dollars worth of energy every year from leaky elevator shafts that vent warm air at the top of the building and draw in cold air at the bottom, according to a new Urban Green Council report.
Green | Mar 22, 2015
6 myths holding back green building
Sustainable design has proven benefits, so why isn’t it more widely adopted?
