The goal of a Heritage Area project
is to develop a pro-active plan that combines heritage tourism and small business
development with preservation, cultural conservation, and education, in a strategic effort
to revitalize a community's economic health.
Peter Johnston & Associates works closely with each community
involved in developing the Heritage Area, helping to outline strategies for enhancing
heritage resources, encouraging compatible economic development, achieving optimum
visitations, establishing mechanisms to improve stewardship, and insuring long term
preservation and protection of cultural, historic, scenic, and natural resources.
Employing a team of historians, economists, and other professionals,
PJA develops action
plans that outline implementation tasks and projects to advance the Management Plan’s
strategies, including anticipated partners, priority locations for investment (target
investment zones), and short-, mid-, and long-term priorities. Finally, the team prepares
a physical plan that maps resources and their locations, the boundaries of the Heritage
Area, the hierarchy of linkages between heritage area components, and recommends physical
improvements and design guidelines to enhance the operational aspects of the Heritage
Area, preserve natural and cultural resources and protect community character.
In addition to incorporating the expertise of historians, economists,
and key local government representatives, PJA also includes the residents of the
surrounding counties, municipalities, villages and districts in the planning process to
insure the results reflect their vision for the character of the region.
