PLAN-180: Preservation and Sustainability - Video Course

One of the most common phrases coming out of most urban forums, workshops, conferences and international gatherings is "sustainable development". The second most common is "heritage conservation" or what we in the United States term "historic preservation". As the economic crisis heightens around the world, heritage conservation is permeating such discussions as economic competitiveness, job creation, housing, public-private partnerships, and social cohesion. Much of the world has finally recognized the interrelationship and interdependency between sustainable development and historic preservation.

Sustainable development is defined as that which keeps what is important, or valuable by meeting our needs without prejudicing the ability of future generations to meet other own needs. Often the most effective strategy for sustainability is to creatively redesign our currently existing historic housing stock. Historic preservation can contribute to all three components of sustainable development – economic, environmental and social. Heritage conservation can be effectively integrated with sustainable development to create communities that are viable, livable and equitable.

The Preservation and Sustainability video course will introduce participants to current theories and discussions of Preservation and Sustainability and their relationship. This course addresses a different aspect of sustainability—green building, environment, equity and economics— through the strategies, tools and ethos of historic preservation.

This video course will be available to students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any computer with Internet access. The enrollment period for each registration is 30 days. There is no limit on how many times the video can be viewed.

• About the Instructor
• Purchasing Information

About the Instructor

Hector Abreu Cintron is the founding principal of the cultural resources management firm Historic Preservation Services, Inc. He recently served as the General Services Administration (GSA) Liaison for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an independent Federal agency that promotes the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of America's historic resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy. He has been involved in major federal, state and local preservation projects that have contributed to community redevelopment, heritage tourism and tribal concerns. He has worked with all aspects of preservation legislation, including Sections 106, 110 and 111 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and all Executive Orders as they pertain to historic preservation and planning.

Mr. Abreu-Cintron has taught preservation courses at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Historic Preservation, as well as at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) during his tenure as Chair of the Historic Preservation Department and Professor. Courses he taught included Introduction to Historic Preservation, Preservation Planning and Research, and Conservation Science. He was the Administrator for the Conservation Laboratory at SCAD and co-author of the conservation study for the Ohio Statehouse Masonry Conservation study at the University of Pennsylvania. For his efforts, Mr. Abreu-Cintron was included in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers list twice. Mr. Abreu-Cintron has a Bachelors in Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, and a Masters in Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Historic Preservation.

Mr. Abreu is also the instructor of the Planetizen online course PLAN-110: Introduction to Historic Preservation.

Purchasing Information

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