One step ahead of the bulldozer: historic preservation in Houston, Texas

Community development corporations (CDCs) are often at the forefront of providing affordable housing and social services, restoring disinvested communities, and rebuilding neighborhoods. Most CDCs work in older, inner-city communities that, given their age and location, likely contain older and historic buildings. Thus, there is a seemingly logical overlap between community developers’ target neighborhoods and the tools, strategies, and resources associated with historic preservation. This article uses a qualitative case study of Houston’s Avenue CDC to explore how and why community developers use preservation within the context of a high-growth city. For more than two decades, Avenue has worked in three core neighborhoods in an effort to stave off gentrification via teardowns and townhome redevelopment. The findings show that, for community developers in growing cities, carefully crafted preservation strategies may be a way to challenge the forces of gentrification, displacement, and wholesale physical destruction.