Tag:historic=district

A historic district, heritage district, historic center, or simply old town, is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from certain types of development considered to be inappropriate.

Historic districts may or may not also be the center of the city. They may be coterminous with the commercial district, administrative district, or arts district, or separate from all of these. Historical districts are often parts of a larger urban setting, but they can also be parts or all of small towns, or a rural areas with historic agriculture-related properties, or even a physically disconnected series of related structures throughout the region.

Historic districts may be known by different names in various countries. Some country-specific guidance:

• Brazil: These areas are known as a "Centro Histórico" in Portuguese, which translates to "historic center".
• Canada: These areas are known as "heritage conservation districts" or "heritage conservation areas" (known as "arrondissements historiques", "secteurs de conservation du patrimoine" or "districts de conservation du patrimoine" in French)
• Italy: These areas are known as a "Centro storico" in Italian, which translates to "historic center".
• Spain: the terms "historic district" or "heritage district" are not widely used in Spain. Generally, cities tend to have an "casco antiguo" (old town) or "centro histórico" (historic center) which, sometimes, is especially protected because of its historical or heritage value.
• United Kingdom: The term "historic district" is not used; instead, they are known as "conservation areas", even when used in urban areas.
• United States: Historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places are recognized by the federal government and should also be tagged with heritage=2. historic=district is preferred over boundary=protected_area for these districts. By itself, NRHP designation does not confer any legal protection, other than from damage funded by the federal government, but may qualify the owner for tax incentives or grants related to preserving the structure.

How to map

Place a node roughly in the middle of where the historic district is, or draw an area to indicate its perimeter if the exact boundaries are known.

Tags to use in combination

• name=*
• heritage=*
• protection_title=* to indicate a specific title associated with a historic district

See also

• Historic district on Wikipedia