Register online.

One measure these entities may consider is a very creative model called Transferable Development Rights, better known by the acronym TDR.  This post will examine the history of TDRs, followed by several examples highlighting how communities have implemented it and finally, how it could be used for historic preservation.  With the imminent announcement of New Jersey’s Ten Most Endangered Places scheduled for Wednesday, May 22 on the front steps of the State House in Trenton, a program like the TDR could prove to be invaluable.

TDR is a land use regulation method which can potentially ensure that open space and historic preservation requirements can be met without causing financial hardship to landowners or impeding local development.  More efficient and cost-effective than conventional zoning laws, TDR’s can help to reduce potential lawsuits regarding preservation efforts; minimizes the use of shrinking municipal funds for preservation; and still allows municipalities to increase its tax base without imperiling its preservation goals.

TDR was first introduced in New York City in 1916, allowing landowners to sell their unused air rights to adjacent property owners who had far-reaching and grandiose plans.  This early implementation essentially paved the way for the dominant skyscraper landscape we see today.  More recently, TDR works mainly by transferring all or part of the density potential of one tract of land (known as the sending site) to a separate parcel, or even to a parcel owned by someone else (referred to as the receiving site).  The development rights then become a separate article of property, which can be sold to a property owner whose land is better suited for development in greater densities.  Once the rights are sold, the landowner still retains the title and other rights to his/her land.  These other rights allow for more farming, forestry and recreational purposes.

Several examples in New York will help illustrate how utilizing TDR programs can have significant economic, environmental and cultural benefits to the local community.  In 2005, the Town of Clifton Park passed the Open Space Incentive Zoning provision which has the potential to include in the sending sites nature preserves, woodlands, watersheds and historic resources.  In this way, the town was able to protect these treasures since developers were compelled to build in the receiving areas that contain greater densities.

In 1993, the Pine Barrens on Long Island were protected from development by the Pine Barrens Protection Act.  Under the Act, a joint commission was created and given broad authority to oversee land-use regulations.  As a direct result of the TDR program, 1000 acres were preserved as open space for outdoor recreation.

In order to better facilitate the exchange of credits between landowners, municipalities and developers, some regions, like the Highlands in New Jersey, have established a bank to help advance the goals of protection and preservation.  With the passage of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act of 2004 (PDF) by the state legislature, a 15 member Highlands Council was charged with the implementation of a Master Plan.  In 2008, the Council created the Highlands Development Credit Bank (HDCB) and is currently implementing the TDR program throughout the seven counties that make up the Highlands region.  From Ringwood in the northern Highlands, once home to iron-ore production dating back to the 1760s and site of the Long Pond Ironworks, to the borough of Washington near the Delaware River, the utilization of TDRs is promoting plans to develop a thriving eco-tourism industry that encompasses historic preservation, environmental protection and organic food production.

With declining preservation funds—especially at the federal level—and the lack of permanent funding for open space acquisition at the state level—such as the Green Acres program in New Jersey—the prospect of tapping into the pecuniary benefits of a Transferable Development Rights program looms large as an indispensable tool for communities and non-profits alike.

PhillyDH@Penn will take place at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries’ new Special Collections Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2013.

The day’s schedule will include two sessions of workshops, an unconference with a lightning round, and an evening speaker. We expect to attract faculty, students, members of the cultural community, educators, curators, developers, and administrators from cultural institutions, universities, libraries, museums, archives, digital media companies, and many other fields throughout the greater Philadelphia region with interest in the digital humanities.

PhillyDH@Penn builds on several earlier events including THATCamp Philly (2011 and2012) and THATCamp@Penn 2012 (browse photos).

Currently seeking information on event start time.

The Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association is seeking paper proposals for its 24th Annual Conference to be held November 7-9, 2013 in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tropicana Casino and Resort.

Proposals are welcome on all aspects of American culture.  Submissions can follow traditional formats such as single papers, panels and roundtables, but alternative formats are welcome as well.  Proposals should be 300 word abstracts and may only be submitted to one appropriate area.  The deadline for submission is Friday, June 14, 2013.

Visit subject areas for a full list of areas and area chair contact information.  General questions can be directed to mapaca@mapaca.net.

MAPACA is an inclusive professional organization dedicated to the study of popular and American culture in all their multi-disciplinary manifestations.  MAPACA is a regional division of the Popular Culture and American Culture Association.

The 24th Annual MAPACA Conference will be held November 7-9, 2013 in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tropicana Casino and Resort.

Proposals are welcome on all aspects of popular and American culture for inclusion in the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Single papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative formats are welcome.

Proposals should take the form of 300-word abstracts, and may only be submitted to one appropriate area. The deadline for submission is Friday, June 14, 2013.

For list of areas and area chair contact information, visitSubject Areas. General questions can be directed to mapaca at mapaca dot net.

MAPACA’s membership is comprised of college and university faculty, independent scholars and artists, and graduate and undergraduate students. MAPACA is an inclusive professional organization dedicated to the study of popular and American culture in all their multi-disciplinary manifestations. It is a regional division of the Popular Culture and American Culture Association, which, in the words of Popular Culture Association founder Ray Browne, is a “multi-disciplinary association interested in new approaches to the expressions, mass media and all other phenomena of everyday life.”

Conference website: http://mapaca.net/conference

With twenty-three sessions and workshops, five tours, and three evening events, the Statewide Conference on Heritage provides attendees with an action packed week at an affordable price. General registration rates are set at $135 and include access to all sessions, select walking tours, and two evening events—the private cruise on the Gateway Clipper and the conference reception.

Please visit the conference website to view the full schedule. (www.pennbyways.org).  Register today!