Smart Growth and Historic Preservation Revisited: A Study of Three Small Cities across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Smart growth and historic preservation both encourage better land use planning, use of existing resources and infrastructure, and an investment in existing communities and building stock.  Historic towns and cities that developed before the advent of the automobile are the original smart growth examples - compact, walkable and with a mix of uses.  Yet nationally, there is an affordable housing crisis, historic resources continue to be lost and we are still sprawling into the countryside, despite the success of historic downtowns.  This study examines three case studies of successful smaller cities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed that are using preservation as the basis for their economic renewal.  The studies reveal that historic preservation was crucial to redevelopment and economic revitalization, but that any connection between historic preservation and smart growth appears to be implicit and that successful downtowns do not appear to prevent sprawl on the fringes.  Preservationists and planners must sensitively address density, infill and flexibility issues in combination with new growth.