How to Save a Place: Manage Your Personal Expectations
Whether we are pursuing preservation as a profession or just trying to save a historic landmark in our neighborhood, we all share a passion for old places, and that passion can absolutely make a difference in our communities. That said, given how complex and uncertain preservation projects can be, it’s important to prepare yourself for all the possibilities ahead.
Here are five tips on how you can manage your personal expectations before, during, and after your involvement in a preservation project.
1. Educate yourself on preservation.
It’s always helpful to have a sense of the policies, procedures, and terms ahead of you so that you understand the challenges you might face. You can bring yourself up to speed a few different ways: through reading or informal beginner's guides to preservation resources (like our Preservation Tips & Tools), through hands on preservation training, or if you have the time and interest through a more formal education.
Educate yourself on preservation by reading related resources, seeking training, or pursuing a degree.
2. Educate others.
After building your own knowledge base, it’s time to spread the word about what you know—not necessarily about the detailed ins and out of preservation itself, but more about the inspiration that fuels your passion. Gaining supporters and spreading the world will help build excitement around the work, but also give you a sense of what to expect as your preservation work moves forward.
Preservation is complex, and it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of nuance and detail. If you’re trying to educate others, however, do your best to keep your message clear and straightforward. The idea is to build connection in a language that meets people where they are: through every day conversation, by sharing project updates and fun facts, sharing your work online, and linking your work to people's own interests (economic development, safety, education, community revitalization),
3. Bring all Organizing Tools to the Table
No matter how enthusiastic you are about a historic place or how many benefits there may be to saving it, not everyone is going to be on your side. Here are some ways to prepare yourself for opposition, and some advocacy and organizing tools that are at your disposal to give it your all.
First rally your supporters (individuals, businesses, organizations, etc.). While everyone might have their own approaches, work to build consensus and community to wards a common goal.
Build an advocacy and community engagement strategy, consider different perspectives in order to come up with the best messaging to support your work, but remember to be flexible to ensure that you are doing your due diligence in connecting with all interested parties.
The power of place is about more than the process behind preservation. Speak to people's hearts and appeal to our shared humanity by talking about why this place is important to you. Share your dreams for your community. Envision with others what you want to leave for future generations.
In bringing supporters to the table you are constantly reminding yourself why this work is important. Keep reminding yourself why you do what you do. These ally's will help ground the work and remind you why the work is important.
While this webinar is directed towards the preservation planning process, the speakers articulated some important principles of equitable community engagement.
4. Recognize that Preservation Takes Time
In managing your expectations you need to remember that success takes sustained and long term efforts. There will be setbacks, but each of these is an opportunity to make the pitch for the project stronger by furthering the preservation dialogue in your neighborhood and network by highlighting the benefits (and acknowledging and providing solutions for the challenges). Connect with broader advocacy groups at the state, local, federal, or national levels to level-up your work and to advocate for policies and laws that are preservation-friendly.
Preservation is a marathon not a sprint so like with all causes that are deeply connected to our emotion make sure to take some time for personal TLC and reflection. Remember you are only human, and that, even if the final outcome is not what you were hoping for, your effort is rarely in vain. Even campaigns that don't meet your stated goal, by bringing the issue of preservation to the public eye you are building a base for support in the long term.
Rally your supporters and assess your group's strategy from the outsider's perspective.
5. Celebrate Milestones, Acknowledge Places for Improvement
When the dust settles (and even during the preservation process) it is essential to not just walk away. Make sure you gather your supporters together to acknowledge what worked, what you could have done differently, and where resources could have been better spent. Remember, while in broad strokes, every preservation project is similar in process, it is often the uncontrollable obstacles that create unexpected outcomes. By debriefing after the fact and at key moments you can strengthen your advocacy efforts and set expectations for the future.
Together, these five approaches will help keep your perspective realistic and positive throughout the course of all your preservation work.
The original post from 2015 was adapted in part from A Minnesota Guide to Community Action, Preservation Pennsylvania’s The Crisis Handbook: A Guide to Community Action, and "10 Tips for Introducing the Public to Preservation." Revisions were made in 2024 by Priya Chhaya, associate director of content.
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