A New Brunswick Primer in Partnering preservation and conservation of a heritage legacy with community development A John G. Kelly Thought Leader

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New Brunswick was one of the four provinces instrumental in creating the Canadian Confederation. Many of its towns and cities are repositories of historic heritage properties and sites that have been bequeathed to the current generation as legacies. Residents are very proud of these legacies and want to preserve them for future generations. Many newcomers to the province have been attracted to reside in these communities because of that heritage. These legacies are in need of preservation and conservation in a way that will integrate them into active community living. There’s lots of talk about what needs to be done. This is a primer on how to walk that talk.
 
Legacy – “something left or handed down by a predecessor”. That’s the dictionary definition. But there’s much more to the concept of legacy then something being handed down. Implicit in the handing down is the notion that it what is being handed down will be used by the beneficiary to carry on and maintain or enhance its attributes. When the legacy has a special attribute such as a building or location with a heritage designation, whether because of its architecture, cultural or historical significance, there is the additional requirement to preserve that heritage.
 
Legacy preservation is oftentimes erroneously associated with the status quo and standing pat. In the case of a building where the preservation is linked to a distinct social status, milestone, event or the building’s and location’s historical status, a version of not in my backyard (NIMBYism) often comes into play. The building and/or location is to be maintained in its original state and no non- historical adaptation or modernization is to take place in the immediate vicinity. However, if the surrounding properties are prohibited from proactively adapting to an ever-changing environment development comes to a halt. The end result is that the historic building and cluster is isolated. It atrophies over time and the legacy loses its luster.
 
The Preservation and Conservation Linkage
 
A building and/or locale is preserved for a number of reasons. The stand -alone building may be an architectural icon. Perhaps it was the residence of an important person. Or the locale might be representative of a critical period of time or an event in the evolution of society or a community. Oftentimes it’s a combination of the aforementioned factors. This is the reason for the preservation.
 
The legacy requires that the attributes associated with the entity be maintained and enhanced. Conservation is core to maintenance and enhancement of the preservation. The maintenance must embrace contemporary tools and techniques. Heritage conservation regeneration process integrates modernity with the legacy. Conservation regeneration is the foundation for sustainability.
Community Development
 
Active communities evolve through a comprehensive application of community focused development. Community development is social development centric and focused. If the focal point of a community is heritage preservation of a legacy then the development is governed by adherence to policies, plans and an operational framework that utilizes conservation regeneration as the guiding principle.