Date of Award

5-2015

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Geography

First Advisor

Dr. Gregory Veeck

Second Advisor

Dr. Scott Smith

Third Advisor

Dr. Benjamin Ofori-Amoah

Keywords

Historic, district, property values, Kalamazoo

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Historic districts have been a point of contention in political, economic and community circles since their inception in the early twentieth century, but their impact has grown since the 1966 passage of the National Historic Preservation Act. Often cited by proponents as a productive tool for preserving the cultural and physical elements of the American built environment, historic districts are alternately branded as burdensome and regressive to future development by critics. In order to provide a quantitative assessment of the economic impact of historic districts, this project compares property values from 1990, 2000 and 2010 in both a historically designated and a non-designated neighborhood in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Through tedious sampling techniques and statistical analysis, the results of the project indicate a link between historic districts and higher property values.

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