Discovering the Vernacular Landscape by John Brinckerhoff Jackson

“We have yet to learn that we can no longer aspire to permanence in our communities, but merely to their continuity. We cling to old buildings and old urban forms even when they have no artistic or religious or political significance. The restoration of nondescript old houses or old residential neighborhoods is pleasant enough in prosperous communities with a history of their own, but is this the way of providing continuity for communities which are poor or too new to have a history? Whatever we like to think, in hard times (which eventually come to every community no matter what its size or wealth) what makes survival possible and desirable is not its archeological identity but its ability to continue, and it continues because some structures, some institutions and facilities provide continuity. These are the landmarks.”

-John Brinckerhoff Jackson