Some of the saving will be done by organized groups like the Preservation and Conservation Association with the help of the community at large, but more will be done by individuals as they seek to rehabilitate their own homes and neighborhoods. This continuum should be available to, and beneficial to, a society whose future requirements are unknown. In addition, the focus will shift to the larger issues of quality of life and community identity. Historic context will be recognized as a significant aspect with districts or entire ensembles of historic buildings and their attendant outbuildings, landscape and streetscapes becoming increasingly important. Champaign and Urbana's neighborhoods are centered around parks and schools, so these neighborhoods will become notable highlights of our community.
Preservation is the business of saving special places and the quality of life they support.
Urban sprawl, already recognized as a significant national problem, will continue to be the main focus of land-use policy as we try locally to control it and save our valuable farmland. The way we shape our community has an impact on how we feel, on how we interact with our neighbors, and how we live. Sprawl touches us all, and we pay for it with a loss of open space and farmland, with higher taxes for extended services, and with a loss of our quality of life. Closely related to sprawl is the issue of the continued loss of our historic rural landscape. Changes in farming practices have made many historic farm structures obsolete, and, as a result, historic grain elevators, barns, corn cribs, windmills and outbuildings are being demolished.