Why Old Places Matter is the only book that explores the reasons that old places matter to people. Although people often feel very deeply about the old places of their lives, they don't have the words to express why. This book brings these ideas together in evocative language and with illustrative images for a broad audience. The book reveals the fundamentally important yet under-recognized role old places play in our lives. While many people feel a deep-seated connection to old places -- from those who love old houses, to the millions of tourists who are drawn to historic cities, to the pilgrims who flock to ancient sites throughout the world -- few can articulate why. The book explores these deep attachments people have with old places -the feelings of belonging, continuity, stability, identity and memory, as well as the more traditional reasons that old places have been deemed by society to be important, such as history, national identity, and architecture. This book will be appealing to anyone who has ever loved an old place. But more importantly, it will be an useful resource to articulate why old places are meaningful to people and their communities. This book will help people understand that the feeling many have for old places is supported by a wide variety of fields, and that the continued existence of these old places is good. It will give people the words and phrases to understand and express why old places matter.

About the Author
Thompson McCord Mayes, vice president and senior counsel at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has spent his professional career preserving old places. In 2013, Tom was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Rome Prize in Historic Preservation by the American Academy in Rome, and subsequently spent a six-month residency in Rome as a Fellow of the Academy. The essays that are collected in this publication came about as a result of that experience. They were previously published in 2014 and 2015 as a series on the National Trust's Preservation Leadership Forum Blog, http://blog.preservation leadershipforum.org.

Reviews
Thompson Mayes presents the case for being loyal to places we love. Actually, he makes the case for falling in love and remaining true through a series of thoughtful and stimulating essays. Rome is Mayes' muse. One of the world's oldest and most significant cities, Rome provides the inspiration for his clarion call for preservation. The interdisciplinary community of the American Academy in Rome, where Mayes was a Fellow, enriches his deep grounding in the historic preservation institutions built heritage of the United States. Mayes' essays are lively and full of insight and hope. Why Old Places Matter is essential reading for anyone engaged in the design or planning of the built environment. -- Frederick Steiner, Dean and Paley Professor, Co-Director, The Ian L. McHarg Center: Urbanism + Ecology, University of Pennsylvania
Mayes has framed the context of historic preservation for the next generation. Whether you're a student, an activist, a professional in the field, or just care about your community, there is no better way to understand the 'why' of historic preservation than by reading this superb book. -- Donovan D. Rypkema, President, Heritage Strategies International



Book Information
ISBN 9781538117682
Author Thompson M. Mayes
Format Hardback
Page Count 168
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 735g
Dimensions(mm) 287mm * 223mm * 15mm