Kurt
Admin
Nice article Debbie - Is New Urbanism the answer? | answer, new, urbanism - Community - WaltonSun.com
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Seaside Founder Robert Davis has a lot to do
- Thread starter Kurt
- Start date
yeah, while i admire davis' vision seaside hardly lives up to it. local produce? pedestrian accessibility to all services? there's also a highway running through it. the fact that they live somewhere else attests to the livability of their experiment.
i do think the experiment can work. i just think it hasn't been done correctly yet. so far, i see subdivision with stores and sidewalks. that does not a community make.
Kurt
Admin
The article barely mentions Seaside. Seaside is a resort town built following a new urban model, but no one holds it up as a practical new urban town. Lessons continue to be learned and applied from old and new towns around the world.
Chandra
Beach Fanatic
The southern part of Walton County certainly has it's own unique circumstances, like tourism, linear geographic orientation, and protected natural resources that have affected the way that development and community have evolved.
Surprising as it may be, there are many communities in South Walton of full-timers and many of these folks gravitate toward one or another of the recognized "beach towns" for a community experience. As example, I live in Pt. Washington, but since there is limited commercial and civic venues here due to vehement protests to protect our neighborhoods, I consider Seaside the closest "town" and a place where I can get a sense of community. Is it a real town by definition? Of course not, though I would hardly say that it was an experiment that didn't work, considering that Seaside put South Walton on the map as the Design Coast.
There are actually quite a few full-time people in SoWal that are working to make this a better place to live by bringing things to the area that are supportive and representative of a full-time, local citizenry. It's tremendously hard work. Consider that many of the great cities and towns in the US were founded over 200 years ago, while Seaside hasn't even had it's 30th birthday celebration.
By supporting community efforts, they will grow. Raw & Juicy in Seaside has started a farmers market every Saturday to support local farmers. We may think the only local farmers are north of the bay and have hundreds of acres, but in actuality, there are many local people growing and preparing food, some of which is for sale at the market.
The Seaside Neighborhood Garden is another example of bringing awareness to this area about locally grown food.
ACT Walton - Agriculture and Community Together is working to bring farmers and consumers together through different initiatives.
Look around, almost every weekend even through the winter, there are events to attend, all put together by locals - some for charity, some just for fun.
A subdivision with stores and sidewalks doesn't make a community, but if well designed, they create the spaces that humans want to inhabit, care for, and consider a part of their community experience.
For a community and/or town in its infancy, Seaside has taken its knocks and held its own.
Surprising as it may be, there are many communities in South Walton of full-timers and many of these folks gravitate toward one or another of the recognized "beach towns" for a community experience. As example, I live in Pt. Washington, but since there is limited commercial and civic venues here due to vehement protests to protect our neighborhoods, I consider Seaside the closest "town" and a place where I can get a sense of community. Is it a real town by definition? Of course not, though I would hardly say that it was an experiment that didn't work, considering that Seaside put South Walton on the map as the Design Coast.
There are actually quite a few full-time people in SoWal that are working to make this a better place to live by bringing things to the area that are supportive and representative of a full-time, local citizenry. It's tremendously hard work. Consider that many of the great cities and towns in the US were founded over 200 years ago, while Seaside hasn't even had it's 30th birthday celebration.
By supporting community efforts, they will grow. Raw & Juicy in Seaside has started a farmers market every Saturday to support local farmers. We may think the only local farmers are north of the bay and have hundreds of acres, but in actuality, there are many local people growing and preparing food, some of which is for sale at the market.
The Seaside Neighborhood Garden is another example of bringing awareness to this area about locally grown food.
ACT Walton - Agriculture and Community Together is working to bring farmers and consumers together through different initiatives.
Look around, almost every weekend even through the winter, there are events to attend, all put together by locals - some for charity, some just for fun.
A subdivision with stores and sidewalks doesn't make a community, but if well designed, they create the spaces that humans want to inhabit, care for, and consider a part of their community experience.
For a community and/or town in its infancy, Seaside has taken its knocks and held its own.
scooterbug44
SoWal Expert
What exactly do you feel is missing in Seaside?
There are a variety of restaurants, an inn, a grocery store, architects, coffee shops, art gallerys, real estate agents, a record & book store, a spa, a school, a community garden, a copy/services business, a jewelry store, a post office, a stationary store, a bike shop, a church, athletic facilities, clothing stores, a theatre (live and movie), 2 bars, and an amphiteatre w/ concerts, garage sales, festivals, and other events. (Apologies to anyone I forgot.)
Additional service and amenities are available within what most city dwellers or foreigners would consider an easily walkable or bikeable distance.
Since the town is younger than me, I think they're doing pretty damn good.
Danny Burns
Beach Fanatic
Apology accepted...A radio station...30A Radio, 107.1 FM & 30aradio.org.
GoodWitch58
Beach Fanatic
I agree that Seaside is doing well and certainly contributes to the quality of life and sense of community for the area. I enjoy spending time there. Alys Beach is another community that has that sense of community; and while it is still new, I feel confident that it will continue to add to the uniqueness in a positive way.
I wonder if the feeling I get from these two communities has anything to do with the fact that each of them was conceived by a person who had fond memories of family--their grandparents. Interesting thought.
I would love to see Robert Davis and his group design another community here that would be affordable for regular people to live full time.
I think there are many who would live in a community where you could walk to everything, know your neighbors, and be self sustaining as far as shops and markets, etc., If it was designed for all kinds of families: young parents with children; professional empty nesters; and grandparents who want smaller places, but well designed and convenient.; working folks, and even people who grow veggies. What a treat that would be!
Maybe a pipedream--but, so was Seaside once upon a time...
We have so much in the way of natural beauty, itwould be a shame to spoil it by ordinary development...when we can do so much that will enhance the natural and expand on the quality of life for everyone.
I am glad that many are working to make our community more sustainable, green, and focused on local business and home grown foodstuff.
I wonder if the feeling I get from these two communities has anything to do with the fact that each of them was conceived by a person who had fond memories of family--their grandparents. Interesting thought.
I would love to see Robert Davis and his group design another community here that would be affordable for regular people to live full time.
I think there are many who would live in a community where you could walk to everything, know your neighbors, and be self sustaining as far as shops and markets, etc., If it was designed for all kinds of families: young parents with children; professional empty nesters; and grandparents who want smaller places, but well designed and convenient.; working folks, and even people who grow veggies. What a treat that would be!
Maybe a pipedream--but, so was Seaside once upon a time...
We have so much in the way of natural beauty, itwould be a shame to spoil it by ordinary development...when we can do so much that will enhance the natural and expand on the quality of life for everyone.
I am glad that many are working to make our community more sustainable, green, and focused on local business and home grown foodstuff.
scooterbug44
SoWal Expert
I am SO sorry!
Dinner was on the stove!Add radio station and seasonal local paper to the list too! I think I also forgot bank kiosk and a doctor.
Certainly not claiming that Seaside is perfect, but it most definitely fosters the sense of community and the vision necessary for New Urbanism.
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Susan Horn
Beach Fanatic
I would love to see Robert Davis and his group design another community here that would be affordable for regular people to live full time.
GW, Robert is very interested in lower cost housing here in Sowal, I've heard him speak to this publicly and privately any number of times over many years, and if I know Robert, he is working that issue every day. The original intent of the carriage houses in Seaside was that they would be rented long term and affordable to fulltime residents. No one knew what would happen to property values and rents, so they didn't write it into the rules that those units HAD to be rented long-term/affordable, and so the owners have been using them as short-term rental cash cows. Just FWIW--the intent for affordable housing was there all along.
Aff housing is very difficult here b/c of land costs and a body politic opposed to residential density, not to mention ever increasing buildings costs b/c of insurance and building code regs around wind loads, and a dearth of older buildings with paid mortgages. Also b/c a lot of people want aff. housing to be located off somewhere separate (like "projects"), in the belief (mistaken, I believe) that having affordable housing in the same neighborhood as the pricier housing will reduce the property values. I have looked at this from all kinds of angles and I"m not saying it can't be done, just that I"ve not been clever enough to come up with a solution. Thank goodness we have folks like Robert, lots wiser and more experienced than me, working this!
I feel Seaside and its influence have been a blessing to my life and my family's and my community's, for all kinds of reasons including economic, social, educational, inspiriational and more. Yes it has its warts, yes it's immature, but without it and all the subsequent development that followed some aspects of its NU model, imagine what we'd have up and down 30A. Scary thought.
Instead, as Chandra points out, Seaside and the newer NU towns along 30A have earned this little stretch of beach the title "Design Coast," a must-visit place for all young design and planning professionals. A living, breathing, actively teaching museum of some of the best town planning and architecture of the last quarter century, complete with brilliant successes and not a few mistakes to learn from. Further, I believe our area has inspired a couple of generations of tourists to take their experience of Seaside/Rosemary/WC (and the old beach towns too -- Grayton, Seagrove) etc. back home and look for ways to make their hometowns more walkable, more human scaled, etc.
30ashopper
SoWal Insider
I think the biggest problem with Seaside was a lack of smart future planning. They simply didn't expect the town to grow in popularity as much as it did or the popularity of SoWal in general. It's such a pretty place but I always feel a little guilty driving my car down through the middle of it. 98 traffic / parking issues really ruin the whole experience. They should have anticipated that and planned for it.
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