The Assessment of the Socioeconomic Impact of Historical Designation

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The Assessment of the Socioeconomic Impact of
Historical Designation
On National Register Districts in the City of
Boston

• Patrick Chrzanowski
• Jim Duggan
• Sheila Ginés
• Ben Privett

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Presentation Outline

• Background
• Mission
• Study Area
• Economic Impact
• Social Impact
• Population Impact
• Conclusions on Socioeconomic Impact
• Recommendations for Future Work

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Historic Preservation

• Retain and Restore versus Neglect and Demolish
• The National Historic Preservation Act was passed
  on Oct. 15 1966
• It established the National Register of Historic
  Places
• Boston Landmarks Commissions is the local
  preservation agency
• The tool of preservation is designation

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National Register Districts in the City of Boston
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Mission Statement

• The goal of this project was to prove the assumed
  advantages of historic designation
• Increased Values
• Neighborhood Stability
• Improved Desirability
• Promotes Involvement

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Study Areas

• Two National Register Districts
• Eagle Hill was chosen by the BLC
• Dorchester Heights was selected by the project
  team
• Four sample blocks
• Two blocks inside the district
• Two blocks outside the district

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Eagle Hill
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Dorchester Heights
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Economic Impact
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Economic Indicators

• Investment
• Public Investment
• Private Investment
• Values
• Real estate transactions
• Assessed Property Values
• Assessed Land Value

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Public Investment

• Limitations in data did not allow for a
  quantitative analysis
• A qualitative analysis revealed that there is no
  increase in public investment
• There is an increase in requested public
  improvements by neighborhood associations

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Private Investment

• Inspectional Services Department
• Permit applications
• Building permits
• Gas fittings
• Electric work
• Plumbing work

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Private InvestmentDorchester Heights vs. South
Boston
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Private InvestmentEagle Hill vs. East Boston
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Private Investment

• Before 1995, investment in surrounding area was
  higher than districts
• Two years prior to designation, investment
  greatly increased in the districts
• After designation, investment in districts was
  higher than surrounding area

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Values

• Assessors Office
• Boston Atlas
• Warren Group (TheWarrenGroup.com)

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Property Values Total Value Per Sq. Ft.
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Property Values Total Value Per Sq. Ft.
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Property Value Value Difference, District vs.
Surrounding Area
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Property Value Value Difference, District vs.
Surrounding Area
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Property Value Average Real Estate Value
(Dollars Per Sq. Ft.)
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Values

• Post-designation, districts are more valuable
  than their surrounding areas
• Districts appear to be growing faster than
  surrounding areas

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Social Impact
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Social Factors

• Neighborhood Stability
• Neglect
• Vacancy
• Owner Occupancy
• Crime Statistics

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Neglect

• Building neglect code violations
• Inspectional Service Department (ISD)
• 1990-2002

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Building NeglectDorchester Heights vs. South
Boston
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Building NeglectEagle Hill vs. East Boston
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Neglect

• Decreased after designation in the districts and
  surrounding area

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Vacancy

• Water utility used as vacancy indicator
• Boston Water and Sewage
• 1990-2002

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Vacancy Dorchester Heights vs. surrounding area
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VacancyEagle Hill vs. surrounding area
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Vacancy

• There is a decrease in vacancies in both historic
  districts
• There is also a decrease in vacancies in the
  surrounding Eagle Hill surrounding area
• There is an increase in vacancies in the
  Dorchester Heights surrounding area

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Owner Occupancy

• Assessors Office
• 1997-2003
• Due to information limitations, an analysis of
  owner occupancy was conducted only in the South
  Boston area.

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Owner Occupancy Dorchester Heights vs.
Surrounding Area
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Owner Occupancy

• Designation has no conclusive effect on owner
  occupancy
• Dorchester Heights owner occupancy remained at
  63-66
• Surrounding Areas owner occupancy remained at
  43-47

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Crime Statistics

• Crime Stats
• Rape attempted
• Robbery attempted
• Aggravated assault
• Burglary attempted
• Larceny attempted
• Vehicle theft attempted
• Vandalism
• Boston Police Department
• Office of Media Relations

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Total CrimesEagle Hill vs. Surrounding Area
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Total Crimes Dorchester Heights vs. Surrounding
Area
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Crime Statistics

• Crime in the surrounding area higher than that of
  the districts
• Crime decreased after designation in Eagle Hill
  and surrounding area
• Crime decreased and began to increased again in
  Dorchester Heights and surrounding area

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Population Impact
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Population Impact

• Race
• Education Attainment
• Median Income

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Population Impact Data

• Demographic data was downloaded from the Census
  Bureaus website
• 1990 and 2000 Census
• All data was broken down per capita for a fair
  evaluation

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RaceDorchester Heights
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RaceSouth Boston
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RaceEagle Hill
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RaceEast Boston
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Race

• Dorchester Heights has remained heavily Caucasian
• South Boston has also remained heavily Caucasian
• The population of Eagle Hill has diversified
• East Boston has followed the same pattern as
  Eagle Hill

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Education Attainment South Boston
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Education AttainmentEast Boston
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Education Attainment

• Higher education levels are higher in Dorchester
  Heights
• High School and Associates Degrees decrease as
  Bachelors and Graduate Degrees increase
• Higher education levels in Eagle Hill follow a
  similar pattern to Dorchester Heights

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Median Income
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Median Income

• The median income per capita is higher within
  both historic districts
• The median income per capita has risen within
  Dorchester Heights and fallen in Eagle Hill

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Conclusion

• National Register designation has a positive
  overall impact on historic districts
• Designation has a definite positive economic
  impact
• Our data points to a positive impact on
  neighborhood stability
• Designation does not have a negative impact on
  the districts population

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Recommendations

• Expand the project to include more study areas
  throughout Boston
• Include more socioeconomic indicators
• Enlarge the time span
• Include local landmark districts as a comparison
• Improve information storage and accessibility

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Closing Remarks

• Acknowledgements
• Colleen Meagher our trusted liaison
• The Boston Landmarks Commission
• Our project advisors Angel Rivera Fabio
  Carrera
• All of the agencies that helped us along the way

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Comments or Questions?