“Amenity is not a single quality, it is a whole catalogue of values. It includes the beauty that an artist sees and an architect designs for; it is the pleasant and familiar scene that history has evolved.”
William Johnson, 1971
Thomas Derrik, Punch 1937
Defining Amenity Preservation
The concept of amenity preservation is not a new one. With its roots in ancient Roman public trust theory, the idea of amenity preservation was first used by name as a legal justification to protect natural resources by environmental conservationists in England in the wake of the industrial revolution. Conservationists argued that access to clean air, clean water, and open space were absolute rights or ‘amenities’ that should be guaranteed to all, regardless of social status, race, or geography.
Historic preservationists later co-opted the conservationists’ argument to push for the inclusion of heritage resources under the umbrella of amenity resources. These ‘amenity preservationists’ successfully protected historic buildings, districts, and environments arguing that it is “the way a town or house or corner of land is remembered; the ideas and emotions it stimulates; the identities and associations it carries” that do belong to the public trust and thus should be protected.
Promoting Amenity Preservation
In the last decade the term ‘amenity’ has resurfaced in the context of ‘amenity migration’—or the trend of unprecedented small-town growth attributed to certain characteristics excluded from traditional economic models (proximity to public land, existence of vibrant artistic communities, possessing historic attributes, etc.). Similarly, architectural firms, such as London’s Amenity Space, have picked up on this time-tested concept as a baseline for their designs, breathing new, 21st century life to the concept.
Thus, as the idea of amenity once again enters the lexicon of architects, urban planners and local governments, Amenity Preservation, LLC would like to provide the services that help to preserve the cultural resources that contribute to the amenity of a given community, region, or environment. All ‘amenity migrants’ themselves, our Amenity Preservationists use this concept as an inspiration and point of departure for their consulting work.
Read More about Amenity:
Batey, Mavis. Indignation!: The Campaign for Conservation, London: Kit-Cat Books, 2000. pg 6-10, 54-55
Baldwin, Malcolm F. “Historic Preservation in the Context of Environmental Law: Mutual Interest in Amenity.” Law and Contemporary Problems 36, no. 3, 1971.. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1971. pg. 432-441
Chipeniuk, Raymond. “Planning for Rural Amenity Migration.” Plan Canada 45, no. 1, 2005. pg. 367-380 Ottawa: Canadian Institute of Planners, 2005.
Kraker, Daniel. “’Amenity Migrants’ Alter Life In Resort Towns” National Public Radio, August 19, 2008.
