The Alliance for San Antonio Missions is a collaborative group of neighbors dedicated to helping to protect and promote the San Antonio Missions and the local communities that surround them. We are local residents, business owners, neighborhood associations and community organizations connecting with heritage and conservation professionals and friends of the Missions everywhere. We are proud that
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently designated the San Antonio Missions a World Heritage site. These global cultural treasures have long been a center of local community life. We welcome the increased attention and tourism that accompanies World Heritage designation, because we understand and appreciate the unique history of the Missions, and their special relationship of built and natural environments. We believe this designation raises awareness of the responsibility to preserve this heritage, for everyone. World Heritage designation has tangible economic benefits for many stakeholders. We count on the complex network of the multiple city, county, state, federal and private owners and managers of the San Antonio Missions to use their best resources to promote the Missions wisely. But we are concerned that the existing regulations and policies of the City of San Antonio do not do enough to protect the Missions area from speculative development that may seek to exploit the cachet of World Heritage designation. WE NEED SMART DEVELOPMENT. We need to build local infrastructure to manage increased traffic and demands for usage, while preserving and growing green space. We need development that does more than profit the few. We need thoughtful, sustainable development that creates opportunities for our local communities to thrive. WE WANT TO BE IN THE CONVERSATION. At the moment, the local communities of the Missions don’t have an adequate voice in discussions and decision-making about a future that affects us, first, most directly. The Alliance is intended as a platform that will help local communities be heard.
