A Few Thoughts on Preservation
and the Environment
By Scott Field
The Preservation Coalition is concerned about the
built environment. Ugly buildings are visual pollution which decrease the quality
of life. Reusing old buildings is recycling. By reusing old buildings we are not
cutting down forests for timber or using the energy or resources that go into making
new building products. Many new materials "outgas", they give off harmful
vapors for some time (That's what's responsible for the "new car smell".
Building new subdivisions eliminates farmland and wildlife habitat. People have to
travel further to get from home to work to school to shopping causing more pollution.
Preservationists are also interested in preserving "natural" environment
such as Olmsted parks and historic scenic vistas.
Many of the same laws that are used to protect the natural environment, such as environmental
assessments and impact statements and zoning, are also tools used to protect the
built environment.