The Politics of Historic Districts

William E. Schmickle

doi:10.5771/9780759114098

Summary

The worst thing in politics is to be right and to lose. This how-to guide will give citizens who are fighting to designate a local historic district the political know-how to win the support of fellow residents and city hall. Everything is here: learning to think politically, mastering the political process; planning and strategy; campaign organizing and leadership; framing a practical vision; anticipating and handling the opposition; conducting community meetings; skirmishing with property rightists; managing issues, petitions, and public opinion; dealing with public officials; strategizing for public hearings; and winning the vote for district designation. The Politics of Historic Districts is an indispensable resource whose practical, hands-on lessons are informed by extensive research and the author's own experiences in winning a district designation, chairing a historic preservation commission, and teaching political science. By showing how and why communities make political decisions to designate historic districts, Bill Schmickle encourages preservationists to ignore the traditional tensions between preservation and political action and points the way to a fuller understanding of the politics that shape local historic districts.

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2006
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7591-0756-4
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7591-1409-8
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 269
Product type: Book Titles

1. Table of Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
Introduction: What D'ya Know? No access Pages 2 - 4
1. Before you Take another Step No access Pages 5 - 10
2. Thinking Politically about Historic District Designation No access Pages 11 - 17
3. How it Starts No access Pages 18 - 23
4. A Walk through the Designation Process No access Pages 24 - 35
5. On Planning and Strategy No access Pages 36 - 43
6. Our Strategic Line: A Community in/within Conflict No access Pages 44 - 48
7. Makers, Breakers, Takers, and Shapers: The Political Field of Play No access Pages 49 - 57
8. Leadership and Organization No access Pages 58 - 64
9. Working with Shapers No access Pages 65 - 72
10. A Practical Vision No access Pages 73 - 81
11. Thinking Politically about Design Guidelines No access Pages 82 - 86
12. It's Personal No access Pages 87 - 92
13. Sticks and Stones No access Pages 93 - 94
14. The Campaign Kickoff No access Pages 95 - 100
15. Community Meeting Arrangements No access Pages 101 - 108
16. Your Community Presentation No access Pages 109 - 114
17. FAQs: Frequently asked Questions No access Pages 115 - 117
18. Thinking Politically about Q&A: The Moving Pattern of Opponents' Challenges No access Pages 118 - 126
19. Our Reframing Q&A Strategy No access Pages 127 - 130
20. Answering Opposition Questions I: From "Distrust of Them" to the "Pivotal Shift" No access Pages 131 - 144
21. Answering Opposition Questions II: From the "Pivotal Shift" to "Distrust of Us" No access Pages 145 - 158
22. Skirmishing with Radical Property Rightists No access Pages 159 - 170
23. Petition Politics No access Pages 171 - 181
24. Reaching Out to the Opposition No access Pages 182 - 186
25. Moving on to City Hall No access Pages 187 - 192
26. Behind-the-Scenes Intelligence No access Pages 193 - 200
27. Working with the Press No access Pages 201 - 211
28. A Civic Vision No access Pages 212 - 217
29. The Politics of Public Hearings No access Pages 218 - 224
30. A Conversation with a Lobbyist No access Pages 225 - 232
31. A Checklist for One-on-One Meetings No access Pages 233 - 236
32. Our Public Hearing Presentation No access Pages 237 - 245
33. The Politics of Compromise No access Pages 246 - 253
34. Winning the Vote No access Pages 254 - 256
Index No access Pages 257 - 268
About the Author No access Pages 269 - 269