Initial Impressions on Marketing & Preservation Planning

PennDesign planning and preservation students past and present have given recommendations on marketing and branding, often under the broad heading of "programming," in their client-based projects. However, we are often quick to embrace marketing or branding ideas that sound good to us based on the well-read writings of economist Richard Florida regarding the creative class. Certainly it is true that cities across the United States are attempting to attract young and creative professionals as a demographic. Furthermore, it is also true that historic structures attract a niche market of buyers as preservationist Donovan Rypkema has stated. Thus, I see that there exists a niche market of residents, businesses, and institutions willing to invest in historic neighborhoods. It makes sense for real estate developers to address this base in marketing schemes. Wearing the hat of a preservation planner, I support the preservation of the culture as well as historic structures.

How do we as preservation and planning professionals encourage these parties to engage in the revitalization of historic neighborhoods without simply altering the recipe of cookie-cutter marketing schemes to regional tastes? Advocating for a generic landscape of what cultural critic David Brooks calls "latte towns" is akin to advocating for the generic "sprawlscape" of Wal-Marts and McDonald's detested by many planners. My initial impressions indicate the necessity of community and stakeholder visioning to inform marketing for historic neighborhoods. I look forward to exploring the evolution of "image" as an expression of both existing and desired values within a place, particularly in my proposed case studies in Philadelphia: (1) Center City's Midtown Village, (2) South Philadelphia's East Passyunk Business Improvement District, (3) West Philadelphia's University City District.