Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities

Preface; I. Preservation in the Inner City; II. Taking It to the Streets: Public History in the City; III. An Experiment in North St. Louis; IV. History That Matters: Integrating Research and Neighborhood Planning; V. Making a Place for Nature: Preserving Urban Environments; VI. Scholars in the Asphalt Jungle: The Dilemmas of Sharing Authority In Urban University-Community Partnerships; VII. Conclusion: An Agenda for Urban Preservation

Andrew Hurley is Professor of History at the University of Missouri-St.Louis. He is the author of "Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture" and "Environmental Inequalities: Class, Race, and Industrial Pollution in Gary, Indiana, 1945-1980."

"Beyond Preservation presents strong advocacy for bottom-up community engagement in the processes of urban regeneration. It does so through the eyes of a historian who seeks to foster a shared sense of purpose and belonging in the historic environment - not simply for its past, but for its present and in shaping a community's vision for the future. Beyond Preservation is recommended for the contribution it makes to articulating the connections between the politics and practice of heritage-led urban regeneration and sustainable communities: not as separate concepts but as inseparable ones. The book's thesis resonates strongly with today's shift in focus from tangible to intangible heritage, and the expansion in the spectrum of values and criteria that should be used in appraising the historic environment, and it makes a strong plea for the role that urban historians can perform in this process." Context 121 "[Hurley] seeks to demonstrate how, through the strategic use of public history, historic preservation might become a more effective instrument for inner-city neighborhood revitalization... Beyond Preservation [is] valuable because it provides lessons for those who are considering embarking on public history projects in the inner city, explaining just how frustrating they can become. This kind of community service is hard work. But there are overriding benefits to participating in a city's evolution and writing about it." Journal of Urban Affairs "[T]he main argument is...that knowledge of the local history can be extremely important for the current population and give a substantial impulse to neighborhood life. This point is well illustrated by the author's experiences. The book offers many interesting examples of local history and the role it plays in discussions among the current inhabitants of the neighborhoods in which the significant events took place." Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, June 2012 "[A] first-rate book that puts theories into action in the service of preserving and interpreting the cultural landscapes of urban neighborhoods. In addition to the catalog of practical models it provides, Beyond Preservation is grounded in a wider academic literature on preservation, public history, and the built environment, as well as a long-running stream of books that argue for more public engagement in the creation of history. It contributes to a nascent - and much needed - dialogue between practitioners of historic preservation, public history, public archaeology, and urban history. Beyond Preservation is a valuable addition to the literature, whether as a provocative starting point for discussion or as a practical road map for community activism." American Studies, Issue 52:1