Vernacular Culture and Urban Economic Development: Thinking Outside the (Big) Box

Problem: This article addresses the increasing homogeneity of urban commercial areas and the loss of local culture associated with this trend. It seeks to identify strategies that build effectively on vernacular culture as an asset in neighborhood development.

Purpose: We aim to identify tools that advance the cultural preservation approach to urban economic development and to describe instances in which planners and neighborhood groups have applied these tools successfully.

Methods: We completed a wide-ranging literature review to identify the characteristics of places that have employed cultural preservation approaches and conducted six case studies involving 43 interviews in five cities.

Results and conclusions: Our interviews and case studies showed us that there are at least three types of anchors in neighborhoods with strong vernacular culture: 1) markets; 2) ethnic areas and heritage sites; 3) and arts-and-culture venues and districts. Although the balance between preservation and development will be different in each place, we did cull some widely applicable lessons learned while conducting our fieldwork: a) involve residents; b) find assets in local needs; c) transfer lessons rather than replicating others' work; d) create opportunities for ownership; e) if it doesn't exist, invent it; and f) balance culture and commerce. Our analysis also suggests that a neighborhood wishing to pursue a neighborhood development strategy based on vernacular culture should have at least one of the anchors listed above and strong, community-based organizations.

Takeaway for practice: We argue that it is both possible and preferable to advance an urban economic development strategy based on the local cultural assets that exist in urban neighborhoods. Our research illustrates different paths that places have taken to advance this kind of strategy and provides several ways for local planners and policymakers to integrate the maintenance of vernacular culture into their larger economic development plans.

Research support: Our research was supported by the Fannie Mae Foundation.