Is historic preservation becoming a conservative movement?

 Bloomberg CityLab reports that the concepts of the value of historically designed and architectually attractive buildings are being criticized because hard right leaders like Donald Trump ("Trump Architecture Memo Promises to Change How the US Government Builds") and Viktor Orban of Hungary ("A Rogue Leader’s Plan for the Heart of Budapest") are mandating this type of design for new government buildings.

Interestingly, wrt Orban, there are 100s of high quality projects across Europe that rebuild lost buildings the way there were built in the past.  These are featured on the Reddit thread ArchitecturalRevivals.  To be fair, this argument is well articulated in today's Bloomberg article, "Budapest's Most Historic Site Gets a Controversial Rebuild."

This is one of those issues where like a broken clock being right twice a day, amongst the voluminous decrees by Trump, there can be a couple that make sense.

I don't see historic architectural design as being appropriated by the right.  The right, despite Trump's Executive Orders, primarily focused on property rights with zero regulation ("Why Historic Preservation Districts Should Be a Thing of the Past," Bloomberg) still disfavors preservation.

CityLab also has another article seemingly on the same topic, "An Underrated Upside to YIMBY Ideas? Better-Looking Buildings." 

But in my experience YIMBYs don't care about quality design whatsoever.  They are in favor of what I call 21st Century Urban Renewal, tearing down attractive albeit small scale buildings often historically designated, in favor of new denser construction ("The Escalating Argument Over Historic Preservation," Governing Magazine). 

Although repudiation of historic preservation policies can be seen as a progressive one by people who see the movement today as one of anti-change, even racist ("Unfinished New York," Places Journal).

Second + Second, designed by Snow Kreilich Architects for Minneapolis, elevates the style of the typically mundane 5-over-1 apartment building format. Peter VonDeLinde

Note that it is possible for newly constructed buildings to be attractive, using historical precedents, but it is so rare.  

This is illustrated by the article itself, which claims the new unattractive building on the left is superior to the design of the building on the right.

=====

Also see, "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing: GGW criticism of consulting team retained to write the next iteration of the city's preservation plan (helped me to articulate the 21st century narrative in favor of historic preservation)," [2025].

Articles critical of current preservation practice:

-- "What We Build Is More Important Than What We Save," American Conservative
-- "What Historic Preservation Is Doing to American Cities" Atlantic