Culture and Recreation

The 20th century brought unprecedented change. As the world’s population shifted from majority rural to urban areas, it caused significant transformations of our built environment. Concurrently, advancements in building materials, systems and technologies — the latter ranging from construction mechanization to digital design — allowed us to build taller, faster and more affordably.

But as much as the 20th century’s built environment was defined by accelerated change, it was also defined by gradual destruction. In response, advocates of historically significant buildings, structures, objects and sites organized to preserve, conserve and protect. This emerging concept, aptly named historic preservation, culminated in the United States with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

Today's professional historic preservationists balance community engagement with innovative strategies that preserve, conserve and protect cultural heritage.