Since it was first published in 1994, The Economics of Historic Preservation: A Community Leaders Guide has become an essential reference for any preservationist faced with convincing government officials, developers, property owners, business and community leaders, or his or her own neighbors that preservation strategies can make good economic sense. Author Donovan D. Rypkemareal estate consultant and nationally known speaker and writermakes his case with 100 "arguments" on the economic benefits of historic preservation, each backed up by one or more quotes from a study, paper, publication, speech, or report. In this eagerly awaited 2005 edition, he gives these arguments even more clout by adding new information and insights gained in the last decade. Count on Rypkema to be entertaining, provocative, and convincing as he describes and demonstrates how strategies that include preservation help communities make cost-effective use of resources, create jobs, provide affordable housing, revive downtowns, build tourism, attract new businesses and workers, and more.

Historic preservation, which started as a grassroots movement, now represents the cutting edge in a cultural revolution focused on “green” architecture and sustainability. This is the only book to cover the gamut of preservation issues in layman’s language: the philosophy and history of the movement, the role of government, the documentation and designation of historic properties, sensitive architectural designs and planning, preservation technology, and heritage tourism, plus a survey of architectural styles. It is an ideal introduction to the field for students, historians, preservationists, property owners, local officials, and community leaders. Updated throughout, this revised edition addresses new subjects, including heritage tourism and partnering with the environmental community.

Excerpt from Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation: The Impact of Historic Preservation on Local Economics in Georgia During 1986 and 1987 the Georgia General Assembly appointed special Study Committees to examine the role of historic preservation in the State's economic development. Committee members heard repeatedly of preservation's tremendous impact. Many people appearing before the Committees presented hard economic data to support their testimony. It was clear that relatively small public investments in preservation could leverage much larger private investments about 15 private dollars for every public dollar spent. The Committee report urged the Historic Preservation Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to undertake a study which would examine the economic impact of a broad range of preservation activities and provide a model framework which could be used to document and measure this impact. In 1987 the Historic Preservation Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which serves as the State Historic Preservation Office, received a Preservation Services Fund Grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This grant funded a study to document the effects of historic preservation on the economy of Georgia and to design a methodology for measurement of this impact. The study was conducted between April and November of 1988. Although the study's original intent was to produce a measuring tool or framework which could be applied statewide, the focus was eventually narrowed to examine the impact of preservation in the context of a local economy. A case-study approach was used in five Georgia cities: Athens, Macon, Rome, Thomasville and Valdosta. It is hoped that in a future study, building on this material, a statewide methodology for assessing the economic impact of preservation activities can be developed. The present study, undertaken by the Historic Preservation Program of the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia for the Historic Preservation Section, documents the economic benefits accruing to these five Georgia communities. Impacts of preservation activity on tangibleeconomic indicators such as property values, retail trends, tourism, the construction industry, employment, taxes and fees have been tracked directly. Preservation's impact on intangibles such as citizen involvement, community pride and image, and quality of life was addressed in three of the five cities through a telephone opinion poll. The data was collected according to a methodology that other cities and communities will be able to use. These two bodies of data are complementary, and when joined present a full picture of the impacts, both real and perceived, of preservation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.