Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Preservation Equity And Inclusion topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Miami‑Dade County presents inclusion review to Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board; staff urged to broaden surveys and outreach
Summary
County preservation staff presented statewide and local data showing underrepresentation of women, Black, Latino and other cultural histories in registers and master files, and outlined outreach, survey and policy steps local programs can use to broaden historic preservation.
Miami‑Dade County planning staff gave the Historic Preservation Board a data‑driven briefing on April 13 about diversity and inclusion in historic preservation, urging local programs to expand survey work, update nomination approaches and increase outreach to underrepresented communities.
Adrianne Burke, principal planner, and Sarah Cody, county historic preservation chief, presented county and state statistics showing that a small fraction of National Register and state register listings explicitly document African American, Latino, women’s or LGBTQ+ histories. Burke noted that in Florida fewer than 5% of National Register entries focus on African American history and that local master site files similarly undercount sites associated with underrepresented groups.
Burke and Cody urged local boards to consider broader definitions of significance (beyond architecture), to commission surveys targeted at underrepresented communities, and to use nonregulatory tools such as legacy business programs, cultural heritage districts, community outreach and partnerships to document and protect cultural resources. She highlighted local examples and noted Miami‑Dade County’s own roundtable with municipal preservation staff panels to share best practices.
Board members welcomed the briefing and discussed practical steps. Topics raised during the discussion included targeting surveys in North Beach and garden‑apartment neighborhoods, coordinating with university architecture programs for survey manpower, and linking preservation incentives to affordable housing and resiliency needs. County speakers and board members also discussed the potential to document lost resources and intangible cultural heritage where the physical structure no longer exists.
Why it matters: The presentation framed preservation as more than cataloguing high‑style architecture; it urged Miami Beach to broaden its survey priorities and community outreach so that local registers and protective measures better reflect cultural history and the city’s demographic diversity.
What County staff proposed - Targeted survey work in underdocumented neighborhoods and property types (for example, garden‑apartment buildings and postwar modern residences). - Amending nominations and designations where documentation has omitted community history. - Programs that pair preservation with economic and social objectives: legacy business programs, rehabilitation assistance tied to affordability, education and public engagement. - Internal steps for local governments to expand staff training, board diversity and cross‑agency coordination (resilience, housing, parks).
Board response and next steps Board members generally supported the approach and suggested follow‑up: working with university programs to expand survey capacity, considering incentives that align preservation with housing and resilience goals, and scheduling future briefings to refine local pilot projects. The board asked county staff and city staff to continue the dialogue and to return with concrete proposals for pilot surveys and potential incentives.
