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11 <br />I particularly appreciate that the broadened concept of sustainable development is made up <br />of responsibilities -environmental responsibility, economic responsibility, and social <br />responsibility. <br />Today throughout North America there are thousands of advocacy movements. And most <br />of them are "rights" movements: animal rights, abortion rights, right to life, right to die, <br />states rights, gun rights, gay rights, property rights, women's' rights, and on and on and <br />on. And I'm for all of those things -rights are good. But I would suggest to you that any <br />claim for rights that is not balanced with responsibilities removes the civility from <br />civilization, and gives us an entitlement mentality as a nation of mere consumers of <br />public services rather than a nation of citizens. A consumer has rights; a citizen has <br />responsibilities that accompany those rights. Historic preservation is a responsibility <br />movement rather than rights movement. It is a movement that urges us toward the <br />responsibility of stewardship, not merely the right of ownership. Stewardship of our <br />historic built environment, certainly; but stewardship of the meaning and memory of our <br />communities manifested in those buildings as well. <br />Sustainability means stewardship. There can be no sustainable development without a <br />central role for heritage conservation. That's what you are doing today, and future <br />generations will thank you for it tomorrow. <br />Thank you very much. <br />© Donovan D. Rypkema, 2005 <br />PlaceEconomics <br />1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW <br />Washington, DC 20036 <br />202-58.8-6258 <br />DRypkema(a~PlaceEconomics.com <br />