Research Reports

This is the first comprehensive statewide inventory and analysis of historic preservation ordinances in Pennsylvania municipalities. The team gathered data to determine the extent to which Pennsylvania municipalities had enacted local ordinances under the authority of the Historic District Act (HDA) of 1961, and/or the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) of 1968, to regulate historic resources within their jurisdiction. A wider inventory/dataset of preservation activities by the municipality as identified by surveyed county planning directors revealed a tremendous range of regulatory historic preservation activities. Municipalities that engage in historic preservation typically have higher per capita incomes, greater median home values, higher rates of population growth, and greater population densities. These municipalities also tend to have populations with higher educational attainment levels and lower median ages.