Paula Jarrett Nasta, AIA

Paula Jarrett Nasta currently works as the Historic Preservation and Downtown Development Planner for the City of McKinney, Texas. The position blends the practices of historic preservation with urban design and planning practices in an established and growing City.   She is simultaneously working to complete her  PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and Design. 

As a licensed architect and a preservationist, her interests revolve around the intersections of architecture and culture in the suburbs. Paula’s previous research includes preservation of 20th century cultural landscapes and vernacular buildings. She has written and presented on the impact of zoning regulations on adaptive reuse and preservation of mid 20th century shopping malls as well as on the use of animal products in vernacular construction. While working at the University of Maryland she taught both graduate and undergraduate classes with a focus on equitability and inclusion in historic preservation. Her current research examines women’s changing societal roles on the design and development of late twentieth century suburban communities. This work has also led to studies in the use of preservation tools to keep affordable homes in older suburbs.

Advisor

Donald W. Linebaugh

Research Interests

• Women’s Spaces in 20th Century Suburbs
• New Towns
• Planned Suburban Communities
• Mining and Textile Mill Towns
• Historic Preservation, Urban Design, and Architectural History

On / Off Campus Jobs

• Instructor, HISP 650 Historic Preservation Studio Workshop
• Instructor, HISP 200 The Everyday in America, General Ed, Humanities, and Diversity course
• Assistant to the Historic Preservation Director

Extracurricular Involvement:

• Graduate Student Representative, Academic Procedures and Standards Committee, UMD Senate
  UPRD Seminar Committee
• Chapter Secretary, Mary Digges Lee Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
  President, College Park Club, Lions Clubs International
• Association of Preservation Technology (APT) DC member

Education

• (Candidate) PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and Design, University of Maryland
• Master of Science in Historic Preservation, University of Texas
• Bachelor of Architecture, Florida Atlantic University
• Bachelor of Arts in History, Florida International University