Urban Historic Districts

Placement of this theme - all historic districts within urban cities within the State of New Jersey, such as Trenton, Jersey City, Hoboken, Newark, Paterson, and Camden; acknowledges the importance and calls to action to preserve our rich and diverse history within urban communities. Historic districts are often victim to redevelopment and out-of-context development, lack of preservation guidelines and ordinances to prevent integrity loss and demolitions, and lack of support for preservation-friendly outcomes from municipal leaders and Planning/Zoning Board officials.

It is well documented that residents of historic districts and local historic preservation commissions continue to struggle with lack of support and changing attitudes towards preservation. By engaging in this program, we hope to achieve the following: 1) addressing up-to-date inventories of historic structures and resources within urban historic districts; 2) educate and offer preservation workshops to local Planning and Zoning officials to ensure positive outcomes; and 3) encourage local leaders to support programs and opportunities for maintaining historic and cultural resources within their communities. This would include thinking more deeply on ways in which new projects can respect the history and value of a place while responding to the high demands for housing and amenities. Both redevelopment and historic preservation can work in conjunction when they are corresponding and respecting scale and stylistic guidelines of Historic Districts. The key goal is to prevent further loss of a community’s architectural fabric.