In Madison, some history has been missed, especially stories and places significant to underrepresented communities that were not originally considered an essential piece of our urban settings. For this reason, the City of Madison is hosting a public conversation to discover Madison’s community values as it pertains to historic resources. This public meeting will be on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 6 p.m. at Village on Park, 2300 South Park Street.
The meeting will include a presentation by City staff and the consultant team Legacy Architecture, Inc., describing the project and ways to collect peoples’ stories and vision of Madison’s future. The initiative recognizes that the foundation of what we are today and the guide of our future. Having a good understanding of how traditions and day-to-day activities connect us to places and buildings can help us determine how to improve our social and physical environments. As the scientist Carl Sagan said, “You have to know the past to understand the present,” and this is definitely what this city needs from you right now.
The City of Madison Planning Division is creating its first-ever Historic Preservation Plan that aims to identify, celebrate and preserve the places that represent our collective histories. In other words, this plan will be a distillation of ideas and comments from many Madison residents to capture their memorable places and traditions that ultimately have shaped the uniqueness of Madison.
One of the main ideas is to preserve what is most important to Madison’s fabric. Madison needs to have a more inclusive, complete and accurate inventory of the places that create its story and it is very important that there is a good representation of Madison residents so the City can collect precise information. The current stage of this planning process is to gather documentation of resources, identify gaps, and develop a strategy to ensure a complete, accurate, and expandable survey.
Everybody in the community is invited to participate in this Historic Preservation Plan in any manner during the planning process. Please visit the project’s website for more information or updates or e-mail [email protected].
