1. Comprehensive monograph — Managing the Magic of Old Places
J.C. Wells. (2025.) Managing the magic of old places: Crafting public policies for human-centered historic preservation. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press. (See here for more details.)
2. Defining the historic preservation field and discipline
J.C. Wells. (2021). Does intra-disciplinary historic preservation scholarship address the exigent issues of practice? Exploring the character and impact of preservation knowledge production in relation to critical heritage studies, equity, and social justice. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 27(5): 449-469. (View PDF of article; view supplementary materials on U of MD web site.)
J.C. Wells. (2018). Challenging the assumption of a direct relationship between the fields of historic preservation and architecture in the United States. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 7(4), 455-464. (View full article on publisher's web site.)
J.C. Wells. (2009). Historic preservation: Challenges to collaboration with other disciplines. In M. Chapin et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) 40 conference: Re: The ethical design of places, Kansas City, MO, May 27 – May 31 (pp. 83-91). Edmond, OK: Environmental Design Research Association. (View PDF of article.)
3. Public historic preservation policy
3.1. Legal analysis
J.C. Wells & L. Lixinski. (2016, 2017). Heritage values and legal rules: Identification and treatment of the historic environment via an adaptive regulatory framework: Parts 1 and 2. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development 6 (3), 345-364 and 7(3), 345-363. (View PDF of combined articles.)
3.2. Evaluation
J.C. Wells. (2012). Using sequential mixed social science methods to define and measure heritage conservation performance. In S.M. Zancheti & K. Simila (eds.), 6th international seminar on urban conservation: Measuring heritage conservation performance (pp. 165-173). Recife, Brazil and Rome: CECI & ICCROM. (View PDF of chapter.)
3.3. Equity, social justice, and heritage governance
J.C. Wells. (2021). 10 ways historic preservation policy supports White supremacy and 10 ideas to end it. University of Maryland Faculty Papers. (View full paper on U of MD web site.)
Gibson, M.D. Hendricks & J.C. Wells. (2021). Defining partnership: Incorporating equitable participatory methodologies in heritage disaster recovery planning for socially vulnerable groups. In M. Laura & C.S. Slotterback (eds.), Learning from Arnstein’s ladder: From citizen participation to public engagement (pp. 50-66). New York: Routledge.
Gibson, M.D. Hendricks & J.C. Wells. (2019). From engagement to empowerment: How heritage professionals can incorporate participatory methods in disaster recovery to better serve socially vulnerable groups. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 25(6), 596-610.
J.C. Wells, A. DeMuth, B. Macholz, K. Pooley, & E. Sutherland. (2016). Latin Americans and heritage values in Allentown’s 7th Street Corridor. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research 33(3), 181-189. (View PDF of article.)
3.4. World heritage
J.C. Wells. (2014). A methodological framework for assessing the “spirit and feeling” of World Heritage properties. In T. Gensheimer and C. L. Guichard (eds.), World Heritage and national registers: Stewardship in perspective (pp. 19-32). New Brunswick, NJ and London: Transaction Publishers. (View PDF of chapter.)
3.5. Policy alternatives
J.C. Wells. (2016). Human environment conservation in 2066. In M. Page, M. Miller (eds.), Bending the future: Fifty ideas for the next fifty years of historic preservation in the United States (pp. 254-257). Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells. (2011). Pervasive preservation: Redefining the role and placement of the preservation commission in local government. The Alliance Review, Nov-Dec, 4-7. (View PDF of article.)
3.6. Existing landscape
J.C. Wells. (2015). The American historic downtown: Characteristics, history and policy. In O. Niglio (ed.), Historic Towns between East and West (pp. 187-202). Rome: Ermes. Servizi editoriali integrati S.r.l. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells (2015). El downtown histórico Estadounidense [The American Historic Downtown]. Ciudades, 107, 45-52. (View PDF of article.)
4. Understanding the relationship between people and old places
4.1. Human- and people-centered approaches for built heritage conservation
J.C. Wells & B. Stiefel. (2019). Conclusion: A human-centered way forward. In J. Wells and B. Stiefel, Human-centered built heritage conservation: Theory and evidence-based practice (pp. 317-332). New York: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells & B. Stiefel. (2019). Moving past conflicts to foster an evidence-based, human-centric built heritage conservation practice. In J. Wells and B. Stiefel, Human-centered built heritage conservation: Theory and evidence-based practice (pp. 1- 30). New York: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells. (2010). Our history is not false: Perspectives from the revitalisation culture. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 16 (6), 417–438. (View PDF of article.)
4.2. Environmental psychology and old places
J.C. Wells. (2021). Attachment to older or historic places: Relating what we know from the perspectives of phenomenology and neuroscience. In R. Madgin, J. Lesh (eds.), People-centred methodologies for heritage conservation (pp. 16-38). London: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells. (2020). The affect of old places: Exploring the dimensions of place attachment and senescent environments. In D. A. Kopec, A. Bliss (Eds.), Place meaning and attachment: Authenticity, heritage and preservation (pp. 1-15). New York: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells. (2020.). Human aspects of historic urban environments. In K. Silva (ed.), The Routledge handbook on historic urban landscapes of the Asia-Pacific (pp. 98-112). New York: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells. (2019). Fenomenologías y conservación del patrimonio arquitectónico: Determinación del efecto emocional y los horizontes de significado para la formación práctica [Phenomenologies and the conservation of architectural heritage: Determination of the emotional effect and horizons of meaning for practical training]. MEC-EDUPAZ, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 16, 206-216. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2017). How are old places different from new places? A psychological investigation of the correlation between patina, spontaneous fantasies, and place attachment. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 23(5), 445–469. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2016). Aspectos teóricos e aplicados da integração da fenomenologia à prática da conservação do patrimônio [Theoretical and applied aspects of integrating phenomenology into built heritage conservation practice]. Geograficidade, 6(1), 4-17. (View full article on publisher's web site.)
J.C. Wells & E.D. Baldwin. (2012). Historic preservation, significance, and age value: A comparative phenomenology of historic Charleston and the nearby new-urbanist community of I’On. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32 (4), 384-400. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2011). Historic preservation, significance, and phenomenology. Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology Newsletter, 22 (1), 13-15. (View PDF of article.)
4.3. Community-based participatory research / grass roots approaches
J.C. Wells, A.P. Silva, L. Araújo, G. Azevêdo, A. Barros, M. Eduarda, E. Ferreira, A. Guerra, V.A. Lima, A.I. Moura, G. Tenório. (2020). Empowering communities to identify, treat, and protect their heritage: A cultural landscape case study of the Horto d'El Rey, Olinda, Brazil. In K. Fouseki, T. S. Guttormsen, G. Swensen (Eds.), Heritage and sustainable urban transformations: Deep cities (pp. 185-207). London: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells. (2017). The Main Street Approach to community design. In K, Melcher, B. Stiefel, K. Faurest (Eds.), Community-Built: Art, Construction, Preservation, and Place (pp. 172-189). New York: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
4.4. Sentiment analysis
J.C. Wells, V. Burégio, R. Lima. (2019). Big and deep heritage data: The Social HEritage Machine (SHEM). In E. Avrami (ed.), Preservation and the new data landscape (pp.145-156). New York: Columbia University Press. (View full article on Columbia's web site.)
5. Pedagogical approaches and career guidance for the field of historic preservation
J.C. Wells & H. J. Berdecía-Hernández. (2024). Reforming architectural conservation pedagogy in the US to disrupt Euro-American supremacy in its theories. Conservation 360º, 3, 159-184. (View full article on publisher's web site.)
J.C. Wells. (2021). Does intra-disciplinary historic preservation scholarship address the exigent issues of practice? Exploring the character and impact of preservation knowledge production in relation to critical heritage studies, equity, and social justice. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 27(5): 449-469. (View PDF of article; view supplementary materials on U of MD web site.)
J.C. Wells. (2014). Social science research methodologies and historic preservation: Broadening the possibilities for a preservation thesis. In B. L. Stiefel & J. C. Wells (Eds.), Preservation education: Sharing best practices and finding common ground (pp. 245-263). Hanover: University Press of New England. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells & B. Stiefel. (2014). An introduction to postsecondary historic environment education. In B. L. Stiefel & J. C. Wells (Eds.), Preservation education: Sharing best practices and finding common ground (pp. 1-24). Hanover: University Press of New England. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells & B. Stiefel (2014). Conclusion: Common problems and potential solutions. In B. L. Stiefel & J. C. Wells (Eds.), Preservation education: Sharing best practices and finding common ground (pp. 283-294). Hanover: University Press of New England. (View PDF of chapter.)
6. Theoretical explorations of built heritage conservation
6.1. Critical heritage studies
J.C. Wells. (2019). Bridging the gap between built heritage conservation practice and critical heritage studies. In J. Wells and B. Stiefel, Human-centered built heritage conservation: Theory and evidence-based practice (pp. 33-44). New York: Routledge. (View PDF of chapter.)
J.C. Wells. (2016). Can critical heritage studies provide a workable theory for the future of conservation? In B. Szmygin (ed.), Heritage in transformation: Cultural heritage protection in XXI century – problems, challenges, predictions (pp. 209-226). Florence, Lublin: ICOMOS-Poland, Romualdo Del Bianco Foundatione, Lublin University of Technology. (View PDF of chapter.)
6.2. Ontological and epistemological orientations
J.C. Wells. (2020). Is there such a thing as tangible heritage? Forum Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 32 (4), 15-24. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2017). Are we “ensnared in the system of heritage” because we do not want to escape? Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 13(1), 26-47. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2015). Making a case for historic place conservation based on people’s values. Forum Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 29 (3), 44-62. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2015). In stakeholders we trust: Changing the ontological and epistemological orientation of built heritage assessment through participatory action research. In B. Szmygin (ed.), How to assess built heritage? Assumptions, methodologies, examples of heritage assessment systems (pp. 215-265). Florence: Romualdo Del Bianco Foundatione; Lublin: Lublin University of Technology and ICOMOS Committee for Theory and Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2010). Authenticity in more than one dimension: Reevaluating a core premise of historic preservation. Forum Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 24(3), 36-40. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2007). The plurality of truth in culture, context, and heritage: A post-structuralist analysis of urban conservation charters. City and Time, 3 (2), 1-14. (View PDF of article.)
7. Conservation of historic automobiles, doctrinal approaches
J.C. Wells. (2020). The treatment of historic automobiles and buildings: Conservation charters and impacts on practice. In B. Stiefel, J. Clark (Eds.), The Routledge companion to automobile heritage, culture, and preservation (pp. 35-46). New York: Routledge.
8. Architectural materials conservation and construction history
J.C. Wells. (2010). Characterization of the mortars of El Castillo de San Cristóbal. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 49 (1), 27-44. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2007). History of structural hollow clay tile in the United States. Journal of Construction History, 22, 27-46. (View PDF of article.)
J.C. Wells. (2003). Methods for the preservation of French colonial poteaux en terre (posts-in-ground) houses. Association for Preservation Technology Bulletin, 34 (2-3), 55-61. (View PDF of article.)
