“What is the Future of Cultural Landscape Preservation?”

A symposium hosted by the Urban Heritage Project, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

November 14 - 15, 2024

The Urban Heritage Project and partners organized an in-person gathering on the state of cultural landscape preservation – in theory, policy, and practice. Building on a series of virtual events, we convened a series of discussions and presentations by academics and practitioners to delve into the critical aspects of preserving cultural landscapes today, including the challenges and models for future work. 

The practice of cultural landscape preservation presents big opportunities to expand the reach of preservation. Cultural landscape thinking reckons with the complexity of places continuing to evolve through time and space, and challenges professionals to bring historical, scientific, social, and design intelligence to bear on the future of these places. As both an established idea and as a critical means of reform, cultural landscape ideas and practices have unrealized potential and deserve deeper exploration. This symposium brought together a range of practitioners, scholars, and policy makers to examine the impact and the potential of cultural landscape work.

Keynote Session

Agendas for Change

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— Dr. Andrea Roberts, University of Virginia

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— Robert Melnick, FASLA, University of Oregon

Session 1

Emerging Perspectives in the National Park Service Cultural Landscape Program

This session delves into the challenges posed by the rigid structure of cultural landscape reports in the National Park Service (NPS), particularly in accommodating intangible heritage within the confines of established frameworks like the National Register. NPS panelists share insights into their innovative approaches, challenging and interpreting these structures to broaden the scope of cultural landscape preservation. The session also explores how the NPS is actively working towards diversity in landscape management, both in terms of the landscapes themselves and the inclusivity of management practices. Panelists envision the future trajectory of NPS practices, identify current limitations, and chart a course toward more dynamic and responsive cultural landscape stewardship.

Allison Kennedy, Intermountain Region - National Park Service

Noel Lopez, PhD, National Capital Region - National Park Service

Julie McGilvray, National Capital Region - National Park Service

Randy Mason, Urban Heritage Project - University of Pennsylvania (Moderator)


Session 2

Cultural Landscape Work in Design

This session focuses on what is new and next in design. Participants delve into strategies employed in private practice that ensure the lasting relevance and effectiveness of cultural landscape work. The discussion critically examines the contributions of private practitioners, as well as the challenges they navigate in nurturing long-term change in cultural landscape preservation projects.

Kofi Boone, FASLA, North Carolina State University

Laurie Matthews, MIG/University of Oregon

David A. Rubin, FASLA, DAVID RUBIN Land Collective

Thomas Woltz, FASLA, Nelson Byrd Woltz

Catherine Seavitt, University of Pennsylvania (Moderator)


Session 3

Indigenous Communities and Cultural Landscape Collaboration

This session explores alignments between cultural landscape approaches and the agency of Indigenous communities, through the lens of ongoing collaborations in the U.S. and Canada. Panelists discuss the collaborative and inclusive methods that they have used to cultivate and co-create cultural landscape preservation projects across the country. The panelists discuss the challenges and opportunities that robust engagement offers cultural landscape practice, highlighting several successful examples done in collaboration with Indigenous communities. Among its topics, this talk begins to define inclusion and collaboration in cultural landscape practice, offer guidance on how this approach is different from and similar to standard practices, and delineate steps on how we as practitioners can be more inclusive in our practices.

Samantha Odegard, Upper Sioux Community Pezihutazizi Oyate

Lisa Prosper, ERA Architects

Brenda Williams, FASLA, Quinn Evans

Jacob Torkelson, Urban Heritage Project - University of Pennsylvania (Moderator)


Session 4

Bridging Theory and Practice - What is New and Next in Research?

Academic and research partners examine their role in challenging norms and evolving cultural landscape work. Panelists illuminate the challenges faced and insights gained in their respective research, the limits of work products, and the benefits their perspectives offer beyond traditional cultural landscape formats/products.

Manish Chalana, PhD, University of Washington

Azzurra Cox, University of Pennsylvania

Beth Meyer, FASLA, University of Virginia

Thaïsa Way, PhD, FASLA, Dumbarton Oaks / Harvard University

Randy Mason, Urban Heritage Project - University of Pennsylvania (Moderator)


Session 5

Articulating Futures for Cultural Landscape Preservation

[Session not recorded]

This closing collaborative session enlisted cultural landscape professionals to articulate agendas for change – in practice, research, and government stewardship. Workshop leaders collectively created a list of questions ahead of time (on gaps in training; professionalism and roles of designers, historians, preservationists, et al.; policy change/innovation; new practice models, and so on). Participants divided into small groups led by workshop leaders, and small-group dialogues were facilitated around these questions. In the latter half of this closing session, workshop leaders presented and discussed the findings of each small group.

Gretchen Hilyard Boyce, Groundwork Preservation

Sean Dunlap, Land Tangles

Angelina Ribeiro Jones, National Capital Region - National Park Service

Jenny Lauer, Nelson Byrd Woltz

Megan McPherson, New South Associates

Meg Frisbie, Urban Heritage Project - University of Pennsylvania

Molly Lester, Urban Heritage Project - University of Pennsylvania

Jacob Torkelson, Urban Heritage Project - University of Pennsylvania