Theses (Historic Preservation)

This collection contains theses from the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 756
  • Publication
    Public Participation Issues in Preservation Planning: Practices of Chinese Historic District
    (2012-01-01) Yi, Li
    Many issues are awaiting to be solved during Chinese urban redevelopment planning process. Among those issues, the lack of participation of stakeholders in urban redevelopment projects in historic district, other than all levels of government, real estate developers, and planning professionals, is one of the main issues that need special attention to be paid and will be addressed in this thesis. Via introducing the preservation planning and the concept of historic district, this article will first summarize five different urban redevelopment approaches in order to represent an overall picture of urban redevelopment projects in the last thirty years. Then, the problem of public participation will be introduced based on five approaches. Before the issue of public participation in Chinese urban redevelopment planning practice is carefully examined, the American experience of public participation in urban planning will be introduced, especially in preservation planning field, in order to clarify the importance of the public participation and the successful stories and lessons in the past. After that, based on the western theoretical base, the article will review five different approaches via analyzing the relationships of the stakeholders in five typical cases, thereby uncovering the reasons behind the lack of the participations in urban redevelopment projects in China and leading to the discussions of examining six opportunities and three threats of applying American public participation experience in Chinese context. Last but not least, a list of suggestions on how to improve public participation in Chinese urban redevelopment projects will be provided. They can be categorized as the policies, the strategies, and the tools, with an emphasis on the appliance of digital media.
  • Publication
    Private Preservation: Using Garden City-Inspired Legal Tools to Preserve Communities and Heritage
    (2019-01-01) Preciado Ovalle, Santiago
    This thesis looks at the legacy of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City vision, and analyzes how a reappropriation of privatism and communal land ownership and management can work to preserve communities and heritage as an alternative set of tools to public preservation. Using the law of property to explore private legal and economic preservation tools, this thesis explores the precedents of private governments and the use of restrictive covenants as tools for private preservation. Using the legacy of communal land ownership and management, the thesis explores the use of land trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), and their potential to be used in preserving heritage sites while giving community members a powerful voice and a financial dividend. Three railroad and garden suburbs in Queens – Forest Hills Gardens, Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens – are used as inspiration for this thesis and the latter two of them as case studies where we can learn about the problems that communities face with public preservation, along with the realities of social, economic, and political transaction costs that present difficulties to private preservation. Despite challenges with advocacy and education of the use of these private preservation tools, there is great potential for their use in protecting heritage and communities. As communities struggle to adapt to the realities of development, displacement, and lost heritage and community, we can look at Howard’s vision for a radical approach to land tenure and management that helps us envision novel ways of preserving heritage and community through the private realms.
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    From Dockyard to Esplanade: Leveraging Industrial Heritage in Waterfront Redevelopment
    (2010-01-01) Spector, Jayne O; Spector, Jayne O
    The outcomes of preserving and incorporating industrial building fabric and related infrastructure, such as railways, docks and cranes, in redeveloped waterfront sites have yet to be fully understood by planners, preservationists, public administrators or developers. Case studies of Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia/Camden, Dublin, Glasgow, examine the industrial history, redevelopment planning and approach to preservation and adaptive reuse in each locale. The effects of contested industrial histories, planning approach, funding, environmental remediation, building materials and scale are evaluated as how they impact preservation outcomes. The case studies reveal a trend towards preservation of industrial waterfront buildings and infrastructure and demonstrate how such preservation has been leveraged to contribute to the success of re-purposed urban waterfronts.
  • Publication
    A Conservation Study of the Naulakha Pavilion at Lahore Fort, Pakistan
    (2018-01-01) Sadiq, Noor Jehan
    This research is a conservation study of the marble elements of the Naulakha Pavilion at the Lahore Fort in Pakistan, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The scope of work includes the two sets of adjoining jalis (lattice screens) on either side of the pavilion, that are self-supporting. The jalis along with the decorative veneer of the pavilion, both employ Makrana marble (from Rajasthan, India), more commonly known for its use in the Taj Mahal, India. Currently, the marble displays a wide array of deterioration including cracking, granular disintegration, and deformation that in several areas has led to dimensional loss. In particular, the thin, low strength jalis show signs of severe stress and destructive weathering due to thermal hysteresis in the presence of heat and moisture. So far, no comprehensive documentation of the monument’s construction, previous interventions, or its current conditions exists. This work addresses the digital documentation of existing conditions and a synthesis of the prevalent deterioration mechanisms contributing to the behavior of the stone and the overall performance of the pavilion. Investigations involved analyzing and characterizing the Makrana marble and its use in the pavilion along with conducting an in-depth conditions assessment for answering a range of research questions ultimately concerned with material, design, performance, alteration, treatment, and maintenance. The resulting digital documentation of conditions and synthesis of current deterioration mechanisms present on site, serves as a baseline for future conservation and interpretation of not just the pavilion but of the larger Lahore Fort complex as a whole.
  • Publication
    Analysis of Historic Paints on Woodwork at Andalusia Mansion - Understanding the Period of Benjamin Latrobe and Thomas Walter
    (2016-01-01) Wu, Shuang
    This study of architectural finishes is intended to substantiate evidence of physical and material changes to the building by way of paint evidence. It augments existing research, including the recently published 2014 Andalusia Big House Historic Structure Report and the 2014 report on the doors styles of the house by students in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania, both of which raised questions concerning the evolution and changes in appearance of the building. With the intention of shedding light on changes to the door arrangement, this study specifically examines and compares finishes in the central core of the house, which represents all three important building campaigns: the original 1797 Craig farm house, the 1808 Federal style addition by Benjamin Latrobe, and the 1835 Greek Revival addition by Thomas Walter. Methods of analysis were limited to microscopic methods, including examination of paint cross-sections under both visible light and ultraviolet light, micro chemical spot testing, and polarized light microscopy. Because of extensive paint removal on the doors within the past 30 years, the author was not able to establish changes the doors. However, traces of historic finishes on the doors, the door surroundings and staircase will benefit future researchers in building upon this initial effort at finishes analysis at Andalusia.
  • Publication
    A Voice for Public Memory: A Comparison Between the Memorial Practices in India and the United States of America to Propose a Suitable Response to the 26/11 Attacks in Mumbai
    (2016-01-01) Muthe, Sanjana Sanjay
    This thesis compares the memorial culture and practices in India and the United States. Based on the observation that memorial construction is not a popular culture in India, the thesis first studies the memorial history of India to establish that the country has had a rich tradition of memorialization. Through the research of the subjects of memorialization, their commissioners and the role of memorials in Indian communities, the thesis draws inferences on why memorialization is not currently popular culture in India. The thesis further compares these inferences to the history and current culture of memorials in America to conclude on the differences in the two countries. The goal of this thesis is to draw on best practices from the two countries and apply them to public terrorism memorials in India. For this purpose, this thesis evaluates the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in New York and the memorial process of the 9/11 memorial and museum as a precedent from the United States. This evaluation is compared to the aftermath and memorialization of the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, a major terrorist attack that severely lacks comprehensive memorialization. The thesis also uses the recent Bhopal Gas Tragedy (a major industrial disaster) memorial process as a precedent from India that conducted a nation competition for the memorial design and involved public engagement. Finally the thesis proposes suitable paths for the execution of terrorism memorials in India that aim to be popular symbols of strength and healing.