2025 IAP2 USA Core Values Award Winners

With its first preservation plan in 40 years, the City of Austin, Texas aimed to expand its historic preservation policies and programs to be more inclusive, equitable, and effective as the city continues to change (scope). The resulting Equity-Based Preservation Plan responds to explosive population growth coupled with an acute affordability crisis, incorporates national best practices around cultural and community heritage, and invites diverse community representation in new, meaningful ways.

City staff designed a four-year planning process grounded in substantive collaboration with community members, particularly people from communities historically marginalized by public policies (purpose). Public participation was sought to achieve the following objectives:

• Shape municipal historic preservation policies and programs that serve all Austin communities
• Inform community members about the planning process
• Educate people how preservation is relevant to them
• Understand the specific impacts of proposed recommendations on communities
• Generate ideas to inform the Plan’s vision
• Build participant capacity and relationships for plan implementation
• Prioritize recommendations for implementation

With the ultimate decision lying with City Council, City staff embarked on an inclusive planning process by committing to Collaborate, Involve, Consult, and Inform across different project stages. A compensated community Working Group drafted the Equity-Based Preservation Plan with early input from 275 community members, City staff, and organizational representatives; then helped to guide other public engagement efforts, exemplifying the “Shared Responsibility” P2 profile with more than 1,300 dedicated hours. Thousands more Austinites provided feedback on the draft Plan and priorities for implementation as a result of creative, dedicated outreach and engagement.

The final Plan explores how preservation can support a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable future for everyone. 107 recommendations support 14 goals ranging from stabilizing communities to supporting stewardship of community assets. Recommendations prioritize continuing meaningful engagement and propose tools for preservation to equitably benefit people across the city. Finally, they consider how to better tell Austin’s full, complex story while maintaining a high bar for historic designation.

Key engagement takeaways:

1) Representation matters: The Preservation Plan Working Group included 26 community members who reflect Austin’s racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity. Entrusted with drafting an official City plan, working group members invested considerable trust that the City would use their time well and take their recommendations seriously.

2) People from different backgrounds at the table expand the conversation: Collaborative multi-year Plan development expanded Austin’s preservation community. Working group members came from all over Austin, focus groups included new voices, and public engagement prioritized reaching historically marginalized communities. Staff in 15 City departments and 17 City commissions better understand how their work intersects with preservation. Community members who participated in surveys, focus groups, and events saw their input in the Plan.

3) Inclusive plans build momentum: When people see their thoughts, dreams, and efforts in public decisions, they stay committed. The Plan’s mailing list remains active, with 1,400 people receiving updates and invitations to participate in implementation. As implementation begins, there is a level of community and political support that was unfathomable at the start of the planning process.

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The Virginia School Engagement Project was led by the City of Hampton in the West Shell/Greenbriar Neighborhood, adjacent to the City of Newport News. The focus area includes a 13-acre remnant of the original 75-acre campus that once housed the Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind, and Multi-disabled.

This project uniquely combined restorative storytelling, inclusive design, and participatory planning to reimagine a historically segregated campus. It centered the lived experiences of alumni from the Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind, and Multi-disabled and leveraged a partnership with the Hampton History Museum to elevate their voices through permanent exhibits. The integration of ASL interpretation at all major events set a new precedent for accessibility in public engagement in Hampton. The project also reallocated $1.5 million from a controversial land sale into a community-driven reinvestment strategy, turning initial skepticism into collaborative momentum.

Three key outcomes showing impact of public participation and engagement:

• Community-informed investment strategy: $1.5 million in proceeds from the land sale were directed by both resident and alumni input, resulting in a shared vision that includes memorial space, accessible green areas, and safety-focused infrastructure improvements.
• Historic preservation through public partnership: The Hampton History Museum now houses an expanded archive and is developing exhibits that capture the school's story, elevating community memory and legacy.
• Policy shifts and increased city responsiveness: The engagement process surfaced long-unmet infrastructure needs in the surrounding area, leading to the City’s commitment to fund a comprehensive study in 2025 and to reframe how neighborhoods with legacies of disinvestment are served.

Three key engagement takeaways:

• Trauma-informed engagement builds trust: Naming past harms and creating space for storytelling was vital in overcoming community skepticism.
• Accessibility is equity in action: ASL interpretation and multilingual materials expanded participation and honored diverse communication needs.
• Transparency fosters shared ownership: Participants remained engaged when they saw how their input shaped decisions, building a sense of legitimacy and partnership in the process.