About partners for livable

PARTNeR ORGANIZATIONS
• The Boston Landmarks Commission – identifies historic buildings and sites and protects them 
through Landmark and district designation. www.cityofboston.gov
• Boston Main Streets – revitalizes neighborhood commercial districts through established local Main 
Street organizations. www.cityofboston.gov
• The Boston Preservation Alliance – serves over 50 member organizations by coordinating the 
advocacy of historic preservation in Boston. www.bostonpreservation.org
• myTown (Multicultural Youth Tour of What’s Now) – an organization that uses history as a youth 
empowerment tool and a building resource for the appreciation of urban neighborhoods. 
www.mytowninc.org
• Partners for Sacred Places – a non-sectarian, non-profit national organization that promotes 
stewardship practices and active community use of America’s older religious structures. 
www.sacredplaces.org

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Cultural Heritage Tourism
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eVALUATION AND THe FUTURe
A tenuous relationship has existed regarding the preservation of historic properties and the field of 
community development. HBI’s previous leadership had a more traditional and singular mission based 
solely on preserving a site and facilitating the transition of a historic structure into modernity. Traditional 
preservationists have the tendency to focus on aesthetics and the age of a structure as opposed to its social 
and cultural significance to a community. Additionally, non-traditional historic structures, which can have 
a substantial bearing on relationships generations of residences have with the physical assets of their 
community, are often overlooked.
In response to a new strategic framework, HBI created the Preservation Priorities Plan that outlines the 
organizations mission, programs, and future. Developing evaluation methods and applications that will 
serve to analyze their current mission became an essential component of HBI’s future. These evaluations 
include not only assessing the significance of preserving properties for historic purposes, but more 
importantly for measuring the impact preservation has on social cohesion and economic development in 
Boston’s communities. Extensive long-term studies on the impact of real estate development have not 
yet been conducted and measurables have not been identified, yet with a renewed focus and advisement 
from their Board, HBI will embark upon examining how their work programs influence the social and 
economic institutions of the city’s diverse neighborhoods and communities.

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Cultural Heritage Tourism