Historic Preservation in the Face of Climate Change Part II: Adapt

We know that our historic buildings and communities are at risk, but many disagree on where to go from there. If we are to preserve our built and cultural landscapes, we first must weigh our desire for authenticity against our need for survival with regard to historic spaces and architecture. How might we — as individual practitioners and as a field — evolve in light of our changing climate and landscape?

Panelists: Louisette Scott, Director of the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Mandeville; Chris Cook, Director, New Canal Lighthouse Museum, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation; Bryan D. Block, Director, Vieux Carré Commission

Free & open to the public. Presented in partnership with Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

This is the second panel discussion in the 3-part Historic Preservation in the Face of Climate Change series.

Part 1: Document

Part 2: Adapt

Part 3: Persist

Historic Preservation in the Face of Climate Change

In New Orleans, we know that it doesn’t take a hurricane to cause catastrophic flooding damage to our homes and buildings. Heavy thunderstorms, strong winds, hail and other weather-related hazards are top of mind for most residents in the city. What role can historic preservation play in the face of climate-related issues such as these?

To meet the challenges of our increasingly complex relationship with water and weather, the field of preservation must develop creative strategies for historic buildings and neighborhoods to document in the face of loss, adapt in response to change, and persist against all odds. The Preservation Resource Center is hosting a three-part series to address the risks and challenges climate change presents for our community and the role preservation can play in our journey towards a more resilient future.

The series will examine what is at stake, how preservationists are currently responding and who our actions serve.

The moderator for each of these panel discussions will be Ella Camburnbeck, the Community Planning and Resilience Senior Grants Manager with GCR Inc. Formerly the director of Felicity Redevelopment Inc., a New Orleans nonprofit working to restore blighted historic properties throughout the Central City neighborhood, and former house director of the Beauregard-Keyes House and Garden Museum, Camburnbeck is passionate about using preservation as a prominent tool in the pursuit of a more resilient future. She earned a Master of Preservation Studies degree at the Tulane School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia.