What Makes A Neighborhood Historic?

Older districts are often marked by high property values and traditional architecture, but it's not just aesthetics and history that define them. Some historic neighborhoods have gone through vast changes, while others don't appear "historic" at all.

1 minute read

July 1, 2008, 9:00 AM PDT

By Andy J. Wang


"America's historic neighborhoods often keep their value better compared to newer neighborhoods. But this is no universal rule, and not every old neighborhood is immediately identifiable by its charm or architecture.

While Society Hill in Philadelphia has the city's most stable real estate and New Orleans' French Quarter has the city's most expensive homes, San Francisco's Mission District is neither the city's highest value nor most stable, and Pioneer Square in Seattle has undergone extensive changes in the last 30 years.

In New York, the earliest settled neighborhood turned into the Financial District, where no one lived until just recently - challenging the image of historic neighborhoods as quaint and traditional.

Historic neighborhoods that have been cut off from cities by highways are now experiencing some reintegration into the urban fabric. Boston's Big Dig, for example, has reconnected the North End, causing one neighborhood's value to increase by 345 percent compared to 1990."

Friday, June 27, 2008 in Forbes

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Regeneration of contaminated industrial land used for waste dumping, West Midlands, UK, 2006 .

EPA Awards $267 Million to Clean Up and Reuse Contaminated Sites

The EPA is investing the funds to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites nationwide, supporting economic growth, community revitalization, and environmental restoration.

30 minutes ago - Environmental Protection

Archway made of bikes in Knoxville, Tennessee over Tennessee River.

Knoxville Dedicates $1M to New Greenway

The proposed greenway would run along North Broadway and connect to 125 miles of existing trails.

2 hours ago - WATE

25mph speed limit sign with digital "Your Speed" sign below it.

Philadelphia Launches ‘Speed Slots’ Traffic Calming Pilot

The project focuses on a 1.4-mile stretch of Lincoln Drive where cars frequently drive above the posted speed limit.

4 hours ago - WHYY