ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the idea that federal historic preservation policies and programs have indeed failed to keep pace with the changing social and economic realities of American cities. It presents the existence of a problematic policy lag. The chapter suggests that the process of revitalization in historic neighborhoods is often punctuated by a tipping point. Lincoln Park is a large municipally designated Chicago Community Area, or neighborhood, situated approximately four miles north of the Loop, the city's central business district. Lincoln Park's post-war revitalization was in no small measure the result of community organizations actively promoting the neighborhood. The reshaping of the cityscape has occurred across Lincoln Park, and the honorific National Register-listed districts within the neighborhood—the Sheffield Historic District in particular—are no exceptions. The introduction of tax incentives to support the rehabilitation of National Register-listed properties renewed support for preservation in the 1980s.
