Letting Go in the Face of Climate Change

Traditionally, historic preservation best practices have been based on the belief that historic built resources are irreplaceable and must be preserved at all costs. Recently, however, accelerating climate change, with its super storms, inundations, and temperature extremes, has caused many practitioners and their clients to view some instances of long-term conservation and perpetuation as potentially unsustainable, and loss as more often inevitable. This understanding has inspired an expansion of the range of possible historic preservation solutions to include “non-intervention,” “continued ruination,” and “curated decay,” or otherwise simply “letting go” of any plans for saving the resources. This white paper describes my team’s development of a cultural landscape report that ended in the rare recommendation of non-intervention in the ongoing loss of a historic site in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Ruins of Lane's Mill in 2018. Photograph by Alfonso Narvaez.

Based on the research and analysis completed as part of this project, and because of the advanced state of ruin of Lane’s Mill and its presence in a flood-prone area, my team recommended a curated non-intervention approach. Through non-intervention, the Park Authority agreed to adapt to the processes of deterioration and accept the eventual loss of the Lane’s Mill structures. The treatment plan provides the Park Authority with guidance on how to interpret the site, with considerations given to documentation, public safety, and vegetation management.

Read more about this project here.