Masters Theses
Date of Award
8-1996
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Major
Planning
Major Professor
James Spencer
Committee Members
David Patterson, Cecelia Zanetta
Abstract
Substantial evidence in American literature shows that there exists a common theme in philosophies, ethical principles, activities, and policies relating to the preservation of both the natural and built environments. This thesis provides an analysis of the significant overlap between the environmental and historic preservation movements through content analyses of the literature reviews of: a) environmental ethics/theories; b) the history of the environmental movement; c) historic preservation ethics/activities; d) the history of the historic preservation movement; and e) current practices and policies in preservation. Following these reviews, a survey is performed for the purpose of identifying values and philosophies in activities from the existing environmental and historic preservation organizations, across the State of Tennessee. The sample is drawn from the public, private and non-governmental organizations in each field, excluding planning agencies. The data is gathered from analyzing the contents of the organizations' mission statements and promotional literature. From the tallied findings, the survey illustrated that the public and NGO sectors in each field illustrated values in activities which crossed fields. That is, the historic preservation organizations illustrated a significant trend in valuing activities in preserving natural environments as well as the built environments. In the environmental organizations the reverse was true. As illustrated in the literature reviews and the findings from the survey, there is a trend to merge the activities in the two fields to form a collective, holistic form of preservation. This trend has been illustrated in new developmental practices such as sustainable development, rural landscape planning and New Urbanism, policies such as the National Environmental Policy Act, and goals such as the National Environmental Technology Strategy.
Recommended Citation
Torbett, Ambre M., "A comparative analysis of the philosophical and valuative principles of the environmental and historic preservation movements in the United States of America : toward a unification through planning practices. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1996.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/10974