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Historic resilience Project

North Carolina is rich in historic and cultural resources. And North Carolina faces dramatic challenges and hazards, from mountains to sea. Too often, those facts collide—cultural resources are threatened by floodwaters, storms, and winds. The Historic Resilience Project seeks to equip local communities to address the natural threats to historic and cultural resources.

Improving the resilience of North Carolina’s historic resources requires a multi-faceted approach. We must align historic preservation regulations, hazard mitigation priorities, multiple levels of government, and the logistical realities of property ownership.

This project and its materials are for anyone interested in resilience-focused adaptation strategies for historic properties, most specifically to help mitigate the impacts of natural hazards like hurricanes, severe storms, and flooding.

It provides context and answers for questions like these:

  • What are the risks for our historic properties and how do we find out?
  • What steps should our community take to protect our treasured cultural sites from natural hazards?
  • What is wet floodproofing and how does it work?
  • How do we align our historic preservation regulations and our hazard mitigation priorities?

The Historic Resilience Project includes four inter-related resources:

  • The Historic Resilience Primer, a general introduction for North Carolina communities
  • The Community Planning Handbook, a guide for community conversations and prioritization
  • The Resilience Design Standards, model design standards for historic resilience
  • Historic Resilience Modules, training for hazard mitigation and recovery in a historic setting.

The Historic Resilience Workshop seeks to find common ground between historic preservation, hazard mitigation, private ownership, and public regulation—worlds that are sometimes at odds despite common goals.   

These daylong workshops, offered in multiple regions across the state, will provide contextual information to help build an understanding around natural hazards in North Carolina and how to mitigate their impacts in historically appropriate ways. The workshop will introduce participants to the suite of Historic Resilience resources. Additionally, the workshop will introduce participants to each other through structured discussions, case study problems, and open dialogue.   

Asheville Area Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: November 8, 2023

Location: Biltmore Village, Asheville

Greensboro Area Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: November 14, 2023

Location: Revolution Mills, Greensboro

Rocky Mount Area Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: November 30, 2023

Location: Rocky Mount Mills, Rocky Mount

New Bern Area Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: December 7, 2023

Location: The Chelsea Restaurant - Downtown, New Bern

Online Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: December 14, 2023

Location: Online

Design Standards Online Workshop: Deep Dive

Time: 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Date: March 18, 2024

Location: Online