On Oct. 10, Marisa Angell Brown into her role as the Providence Preservation Society鈥檚 newest executive director. In her new role, Angell Brown aims to form lasting relationships across Providence鈥檚 many neighborhoods, as well as approach preservation work by more conscientiously thinking about its effects on environmental justice and public health.
Before her role at PPS, Angell Brown served as the associate director of the and assistant director of programs at Brown University鈥檚 .
Angell Brown said she got involved in preservation efforts when her own family鈥檚 history and heritage began to make her question 鈥渨hose heritage gets preserved and whose doesn鈥檛.鈥�
Her father鈥檚 side of the family has been in the United States for hundreds of years and has well-documented archives and stories that have been passed down. Angell Brown鈥檚 mother, however, emigrated from South Korea 鈥� leaving a country that 鈥渟he had mixed feelings about鈥� 鈥� and didn鈥檛 share much of her family history, Angell Brown explained.
鈥淎s I got older, I was really interested in how, within your own family stories, 鈥� some get elevated (while others aren鈥檛) really talked about,鈥� she said.
In her academic work, Angell Brown is particularly interested in art and architectural history. 鈥淲hat are the things that a culture decides to spend a lot of resources conserving, protecting, elevating and interpreting?鈥� she asked. 鈥淎nd what are the things that we decide are not valuable or we鈥檙e going to let be demolished or erased?鈥�
Angell Brown hopes to answer these questions and make preservation efforts more relevant to the communities PPS serves by identifying what it is about spaces and their histories that make them valuable to the people who use them every day.
Angell Brown鈥檚 goals are in line with the broader mission of PPS, which 鈥渉as been dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of place, neighborhoods and the overall built environment within the city for decades,鈥� according to Adriana Hazelton, an advocacy manager at the organization.
Hazelton wrote that with its , PPS hopes to 鈥渄emonstrate how preservation can play a larger role 鈥� in supporting affordable housing and vibrant neighborhoods,鈥� an effort now aided by Angell Brown鈥檚 鈥渟ubstantial history and experience with community-centered preservation, history and design.鈥�
Brent Runyon, former executive director of PPS, said that one of the most important goals of the society is focusing on 鈥渉ow preservation can be a tool for revitalization in neighborhoods.鈥�
鈥淥ur neighborhoods are the heartbeat of our city,鈥� he said. According to Runyon, preservation needs to play a part in both maintaining architectural heritage and the 鈥渟tewardship of resources that have already been expended to create buildings.鈥�
Hazelton said that PPS鈥檚 other goals include 鈥渆xpanding 鈥� preservation trades and building works programming,鈥� forming relationships within the city and creating spaces for residents to advocate for preservation and plan initiatives.
Angell Brown said that she is excited to work with all 25 of Providence鈥檚 neighborhoods in her new role: 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazingly diverse city for its size, and it鈥檚 really exciting to get to work at this scale.鈥�
She also discussed how preservation involves the consideration of public health and environmental justice, as both construction and demolition produce significant carbon emissions. She hopes to build coalitions in support of these considerations.
But Angell Brown鈥檚 new role does not mean an end to her work with the University 鈥� where she hopes to continue publishing original research on Providence鈥檚 architecture and heritage. 鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in thinking about how we work with artists and writers and performers to bring historic sites alive (and) create work that speaks critically back to spaces that have really problematic or complicated histories,鈥� she said.
Runyon said that he hopes PPS 鈥渋s able to think about neighborhood revitalization in a more just way,鈥� especially when it comes to thinking about how preservation is associated with gentrification and displacement. 鈥淭hat work is hard, and there is no magic bullet,鈥� he said.
While it may vary across neighborhoods, 鈥渨e think the data is always going to show that preservation equals gentrification and displacement," but that's not "always the case," Angell Brown said. "Can we be working with policymakers outside the field of preservation so that when a neighborhood is preserved, there are measures in place for things like affordable housing units or something like that? That's outside of our scope, but these are partners we should be working with."
PPS is also currently researching homes and businesses previously owned by Black people on College Hill that are now University property. Angell Brown said this work 鈥渃omes on the heels of the significant research that has already been done by Stages of Freedom and the Black Heritage Society, (who) have been the field leaders in elucidating this history.鈥�
Ultimately, 鈥渨e have a responsibility to really think through the impacts of the work and what it does to people and their 鈥� ability to remain in a place after preservationists have come into it,鈥� Angell Brown said.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly described Angell Brown's view of gentrification's relationship with preservation. The Herald regrets the error.
Avani Ghosh is a Metro Editor covering politics & justice and community & activism. She is a sophomore from Ohio studying Health & Human Biology and International & Public Affairs. She is an avid earl grey enthusiast and can be found making tea in her free time.
