Seaside • Location: Walton County, Fla. • Town Founders: Robert and Daryl Davis • Architects/Urban Planners: Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co. • Notable: With its planning approach breaking with conventional suburban development, Seaside became one of the first projects to bring New Urbanism to the public eye. Based on the “five-minute walk” concept, which puts all dwellings within a quarter-mile of the town center, the pedestrian-friendly community reduces the need for cars.
Steven Brooke Studios Seaside • Location: Walton County, Fla. • Town Founders: Robert and Daryl Davis • Architects/Urban Planners: Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co. • Notable: With its planning approach breaking with conventional suburban development, Seaside became one of the first projects to bring New Urbanism to the public eye. Based on the “five-minute walk” concept, which puts all dwellings within a quarter-mile of the town center, the pedestrian-friendly community reduces the need for cars.

Seaside’s innovative planning ideas have helped generate a rethinking of the design of communities and have come to assume a place of great significance in urban design. The design of its avenues, streets, alleys, and footpaths emphasizes public spaces over private and promotes social encounters. Dwellings range from units above retail on the square to carriage houses to cottages and townhomes to larger single-family homes. The housing options enable residents to transition through the stages of life and changing housing-type demands while remaining in the same community. The community’s public green supports gatherings such as music events and local festivals. The residential portion of the mixed-use development is affordable for shopkeepers or local teachers. With its emphasis on community, Seaside continues to be a standard for good urban planning.

—John Schrader, design director, JHP Architecture/Urban Design, Dallas