Where Preservation Meets Land Use Regulation
Historic Districts in Los Angeles
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7161995 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah Mawhorter (0000-0003-2601-0672, University of Groningen, corresponding author), Kelly Kinahan (0000-0002-5032-3532, Florida State University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 91 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 394-413 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the American Planning Association (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0194-4363 • E-ISSN: 1939-0130 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01944363.2024.2417053 |
| OpenAlex | W4405074431 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 36 |
Problem, research strategy, and findings: Local historic districts function as a zoning overlay regulating the urban form, yet limited empirical analysis has considered how historic districts may interact with broader land use regulations. We conducted a comparative case study of the designation process in two Los Angeles (CA) neighborhoods, combining archival research and building permit data analysis. We examined land use regulations, development patterns, and the arguments of supporters and opponents to understand the intended purposes of the historic districts and the factors that contributed to either adoption or withdrawal. We found interactions between historic districts and other land use and zoning regulations substantially shaped the designation process and outcome. The designation process also has the potential to foster diverse community coalitions organized around a wide range of concerns, from anti-development to anti-displacement. Because our analysis focused on comparing two neighborhoods in Los Angeles, different factors could shape designation processes in other localized contexts. Still, we have identified lessons with transferability to planning in other cities. Takeaway for practice: Planners should more explicitly attend to the potential conflicts between neighborhood-level historic district designation versus broader housing density and affordability goals. We recommend changes to the historic preservation plan-making process that would include explicit considerations of how the designation could affect housing production and rental affordability to more tightly link to the housing element of the general plan and relevant community plans. Incorporating these considerations into the historic district designation process would allow for better balancing of preservation and development goals
Civil engineering · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Land use · Political science · Regional science · Transferability · Zoning · Computer Science · Engineering · Law · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Urban Planning and Governance · Urbanization and City Planning
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Uncovering the Relationship Between Historic Districts and Same-Sex Households
Racism by Design
Trespassers
Introducing the Yimbys
Tensions between Demolition and Preservation in Philadelphia
Why Are Regulations Changed? A Parcel Analysis of Upzoning in Los Angeles
Democracy in Action
You don’t need zoning to be exclusionary
Place attachment as a motivation for community preservation
Historic Preservation and Residential Property Values
Historic Preservation and Residential Property Values
Preservation and Community
From “Blighted” to “Historic
Boundaries of Power
The Diversity of Gentrification in Houston's Urban Renaissance
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |