An 800-acre contiguous area in the middle of the Toledo metropolis of the Northwest Ohio, the Junction Neighborhood witnessed events, trends, and personalities that depict the unique African-American cultural identity. The Neighborhood boosts a myriad of places that accommodated the spiritual, entertainment, and dietetic rituals of the community. In contrast to these testimonies of cultural significance, the neighborhood has been in an economic and social decline for a few decades as indicated by the dwindling numbers of population and the frequency of abandoned structures.  In collaboration with the City of Toledo, the Toledo Design Center, and other civic and financial organizations, the Junction community is now contemplating a spatially driven Neighborhood Plan.  Still, the community is receptive and desiring to entertain development ideas rooted in and informed by the culture of the place for taking advantage of the environmental and social sustainability opportunities.  This is where our study comes in. The study discusses the long-view role of the cultural heritage of the Junction, tangible and intangible, in enhancing the prospects for a multi-dimensional sustainable change.

 

Sustainable development in general and the application of sustainable principles in particular assume diverse manifestations.  The series of principles and guidelines for sustainable development that have emerged worldwide since the 1970s fueled governmental and advocacy programs on the national and local levels.  Notable among those are the UNESCO principles, which, in turn, have resulted in a diffusion of initiatives and applications by Member States.  Of particular interest to our study is the 2011 UNESCO’s Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) Approach focusing on the role of cultural heritage in sustainable development. The HUL approach is holistic and interdisciplinary, addressing inclusive management of heritage assets to guide change in historic areas. The approach is grounded in layers of the community interconnected “values” to serve as a point of departure for urban development management.  The HUL Approach accommodates six steps and four tools that have been followed in pilot applications and case studies in cities worldwide.  

We intend to assess the applicability of the HUL Approach for the Junction Neighborhood of Toledo through the following tasks: 

The study will benefit from our established involvement in the Junction Neighborhood over the last few years as members of Toledo-wide organizations participating in plans for the Neighborhood future.  We will capitalize on the opportunities for direct dialogue with the Junction Neighborhood community, the City of Toledo, and other civic and financial institutions.  We will take advantage of the library and internet information, particularly the information associated with the UNESCO recommendations and declarations on the subject and the HUL application case studies.  The study will serve as a prelude, a pilot endeavor if you will, for a full-fledge application of the HUL Approach to the Junction Neighborhood situation.  Equally important, the study will help assess the applicability of the HUL to any site or city.