The City of Albany primarily uses its website to provide information and resources concerning the historic districts for homeowners. However, the homeowners have to seek this information out themselves rather than the City of Albany reaching out and having a proactive communication strategy. We recommend a communication strategy that targets historic building owners, current and prospective, and begins the line of communication so that the City of Albany’s mission is disseminated efficiently.
While general awareness about the historic districts is high, misconceptions and false information are common due to the lack of proactive communication from the Historic Preservation Department. Instead of having Historic Preservation as its own section on the city’s website, users have to click on Departments, click on Community Development, then go on to Historic Preservation. Even though Historic Preservation does not need to be the featured page on the website, having to search for the information does not help create awareness. It would be beneficial for the City of Albany to create a Facebook page specifically for the Historic District and Preservation and link it to the front page of the City of Albany’s site or create a tab for the department that isn’t hidden.
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
Sustainable City Year Program Contact Info
Megan Banks
Sustainable City Year Program Manager
mbanks@uoregon.edu
(541) 346-6395
University Faculty Contact
Lance Robertson
Journalism
lancer@uoregon.edu
Local Government / Community Contact
Shawna Adams
Planner