Now more than ever, community organizations in Philadelphia and in cities across the country need modern, accessible resources that enable them to research, document, and preserve their historic neighborhoods. Equipped with these resources, community advocates can more proactively set local preservation priorities, avoid contentious fights over infill development, and prevent the demolition of beloved, but neglected and/or unprotected landmarks. A project initiated by Baltimore Heritage, the Local Preservation School is a new and evolving collection of online, open educational resources designed to help volunteers and neighborhood organizations take proactive and effective steps toward the preservation of their communities.

This workshop will provide an opportunity to both learn and share best practices among a set of local preservation advocates. Workshop participants will be introduced to open educational resources, traditional preservation approaches such as surveys, inventories, and nominations, and newer freely accessible tools such as CartoDB and GitHub. Work conducted during the workshop will further inform future content, lessons, and tutorials made available through the Local Preservation School.

Co-hosted by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia and Baltimore Heritage, and made possible by grant-funded support from the National Park Service. Free and open to the general public, neighborhood advocates, representatives of NACs,CDCs,RCOs, preservation professionals, educators, and students, alike. Special thanks to the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

Space is limited to 25 participants.