Conflicts and Common Ground Between Density, Affordability, and Historic Preservation in the Wallingford-Meridian Streetcar Historic District Case Study

Abstract

The nomination of the Wallingford-Meridian Streetcar Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places following the passage of citywide rezones and Mandatory Housing Affordability in Seattle prompted a variety of community responses. The purpose of this research is to identify and understand the key points of tension between historic preservation, housing density, and housing affordability which arose around the nomination. First, the literature on historic districts, the housing affordability critique of historic districts, development opposition in historic districts, and coordination between preservation and affordability is reviewed. Next, understanding of the district is developed through lenses of morphology, sociology, and history and the affordability landscape of the neighborhood and historic district are explored. Finally, tensions within press reports and public comment related to the National Register nomination are identified and categorized as policy: intent versus impact; experiences of affordability: accessible versus exclusionary; sense of place: aesthetic versus historic; neighborhood: form versus function; and demolition: destruction versus growth. Common ground between perceptions of density, affordability, and preservation in this case study and ongoing work in other jurisdictions point to opportunities for greater inclusion in preservation processes and outcomes, mitigation strategies, climate action, and actively promoting affordability in historic buildings.