Conservation and Diverging Philosophies

Conservation is an activity engaged in by many different kinds of professional people, and the exact meaning of the term varies considerably according to the field of application. Within architecture and planning it has at least two meanings, which now seem philosophically opposed. That the difference is not clearly recognized could well be the cause of much of the misunderstanding that exists, particularly between professions. The probable causes of what appears to be an increasing philosophical divergence are reviewed, and the question discussed and left open as to whether these approaches need be regarded as unreconcilable.