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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.   

Historic Resilience Planning Workshop: Deep Dive

Time: 1:00PM – 5:00PM

Date: March 26, 2024

Location: Online

Historic Resilience Planning Workshop: Deep Dive

Time: 1:00PM – 5:00PM

Date: March 28, 2024

Location: Online

Wilmington Area Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: August 29, 2024

Location: Station No. 2 Wilmington, NC

Edenton Area Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: September 5, 2024

Location: 1767 Chowan County Courthouse Edenton, NC

Mt. Holly Area Workshop

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Date: October 2, 2024

Location: Muddy River Distillery Mt. Holly, NC