Historical preservation is the practice of protecting historic places and objects so that they can be enjoyed by future generations. Ana Martinez Borges, an urban ecology student, has a special interest in architecture and historical preservation, hoping to one day make her own impact in the field. 

Martinez Borges speaks on what drew her to architecture and historic preservation, “Growing up traveling—seeing a lot of different architecture styles—really helped inspire me.” She continued on to say, “I enjoyed the architecture of Europe. Things there are really old, so it just really drew me to historic preservation.”  She continued on to say, “There’s a lot of buildings falling apart, and that are not very well preserved, especially in the US. There’s not a lot of historic preservation committees.”

On her travel experiences, Martinez Borges explained, “I really liked Pompeii and how they’ve gone through and preserved a lot of the ruins. Also, they give a lot of helpful tours. They have a lot of details and information for people to learn about [the location], but without ruining the area and polluting it with a lot of signs and posters.”

There are also many challenges associated with historical preservation. “There’s a lack of knowledge and caring, they’re just not educated on it,” Martinez Borges said. “There’s not a lot of committees or young people making an effort to preserve historic properties. It’s not necessarily valued over new builds and trendy aesthetics.”

“I really like mosaics and murals that are in old churches, throughout Europe primarily. I am definitely interested in woodworking or mosaics.”

Martinez Borges reiterates the importance of historic preservation for future generations by saying, “I think it tells a story and has a lot of character. The art from new builds has been lost over time so it’s important for people to also connect how the city originally was—the stories of the past.”