HSPV 7010: Carbondale

This studio project in fall 2022 was undertaken by a student team from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate Program in Historic Preservation. The student team aimed to support the city of Carbondale, PA in creating a meaningful and effective contemporary narrative using the tools of historic preservation.  Carbondale is a small city situated between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers in the Wyoming Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region. The preservation studio brief was to apply methodologies of conservation and values-based planning—a flexible framework for heritage management decision-making at all scales that is very common to the field—to support and help guide heritage decision-making among owners, stakeholders, stewards, and public officials. The studio focused on these planning strategies and specifically the further development of community-based heritage programs and practices, local economic revitalization tied to heritage identity, and leveraging its connection to regional outdoor recreation resources.