At EID we think it is important to bring a variety of voices into blog posts. So this post has a series of links to some information we hope you will find useful for your site and in the planning process.
Track ‘N Time Survey Tool
This first link is “tooting” our own horn. It is the link to the recent webinar led by Lar Wohlers on the Track ‘N Time Survey Tool that you can use right away and is free for three months. The presentation is a little over an hour. Please contact Lars at lars.wohlers@eidcoaching.com if you are interested in using the survey tool or have questions.
Economics Rabbit Hole
Lars recommended the book Interpretive Planning for Museums by Wells, Butler, & Koke and it is excellent (Marcella Wells will be a guest blogger in the near future). One of the topics in the book dealt with conducting an economic audit on the impact of your site on the community. Since Lars is currently a professor teaching a course in Environmental Economics he provided a few valuable resources to share on this topic.
1. This link looks at the direct economic benefits to communities by national parks in the United States and was conducted by the National Park Service (NPS). It is a straightforward look at the numbers from the 2021 survey.
2. This next link is also authored by NPS and review the impact of heritage site from a social science perspective on a national, state, and local level in the United States. This has a lot of information and good graphics.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm
3. One more link along this economic vein is a blog post by the Canadian interpretive planner Don Enright. We follow Don’s posts and he is spot on with this one. He takes a close look at the economic and cultural impacts of heritage sites he has worked with. Definitely a good read.
https://www.donenright.com/revenue-generation-in-the-heritage-sector/
How Would You Design Art Museum Labels?
Now for something completely different – how to label art in museums. Lorin Labardee, an artist in Tucson, Arizona, puts out a regular newsletter that is funny and informative. This one caught our eye because labels in art museums are…well an issue for us at EID. Lorin provides some good insights and good ideas for breaking the cycle of “museum label fatigue.”
Planning & Preserving from an Indigenous Perspective
Our final recommendation is a wonderful article about an Indigenous Nation in Canada creating a “blue” park fully managed and planned by the Nation. By imbuing the preserve with both cultural and natural principles to respect the past and to encourage the culture of today to thrive. This article provides a unique perspective to planning and mixed use.
https://happyeconews.com/gitdisdzu-lugyeks/
We hope at least one of these links is useful and let us know if you have a favorite article or piece of information you would like us to share. Who knows, it may show up in a future post.
All the Best,
Bill, Lars, Mike