American Makeover Episode 2: SEASIDE, THE CITY OF IDEAS

[@valeriev6670]

1 Create a Town Design and build a community that moves away from sprawl and towards mixed land use and walkability. 2 Incremental Urbanisation Urbanizing a community, making sure it costs less and not going into debt. 3 Versatile Infrastructure Having a double use for things, like he said in the video if there were to be a 1000 year storm it would all drain there but in the meantime it is just used by children. 4 Limiting Lawns Lawns require lots of maintenance and lots of water. 5 Incubator Retail Incubator Retail gives small business owners to sell their products in very cheap places as a “test run”. If teh business does well they get to move to a better location, if they fail, they fail. - as said by the guy in the video TEMPORARY LOCATIONS 6 Progressive Retail Watching a business or store that will most likely fail grow and become a real and big business. (Takes real work) 7 Mixed use buildings There are some of these in Barrie where I used to live. Mixed use buildings are buildings that are used for different things. For example, the bottom of the building might be a doctors office, then a work space and then on the top some apartments. 8 Live/Work units Buildings that have one family's store or business at the bottom and at the top have their house or apartment. (different then mixed use because it is all owned by the same person or family) 9 Agonistic to Style Style doesnt really matter, there could be two suburban houses and one beat down shed but it doesnt matter. 10 Celebrate Civic Buildings Having a building for the citizens to rent out and raise their own money for. 11 Amenities for everyone Giving access to wanted things like a water view for example to everyone. (being equal to one another) 12 Good Street Geometry Pretty much just having safe streets, whether that's having narrow roads or many speed bumps and stop signs. Having it safe for kids and the elderly is what matters. 13 Recover Trusty Traditions Bringing back things that are traditional or that were used back in the day. Like in the video, metal roofs are now used and brough back. 14 Work With Nature Help nature and create things to help nature do what it was originally meant to do, grow. 15 Pervious streets Creating and building sfae streets for kids in a sustainable way. Using cheap materials, habing narrow roads, and big sidewalks. 16 Original Green - Less is More Doing things the original way costs less. (shhh your welcome)

[@lyricsonastar]

OMG THANK YOU probably wont use cos i dont wanna get in trouble but likeee YOURE THE BEST!!!

[@nomaambundy9989]

Enjoy the hurricanes. Eventually your insurance companies will drive you out of the area hopefully.

[@andrewwilson507]

Well done Valerie!

[@andrewdemant2584]

What about 17

[@cyrusdemeter]

tysm

[@Gamer.Girl420]

Anyone here in class?

[@SORIZILLA911]

Idea #1: Create a town #2 : Incremental Urbanism #3 : Versatile Infrastructure #4 : Limit the Lawns #5 : Incubator Retail #6 : Progressive Retail #7 : Mixed use #8 : Live/work Units #9 : Agnostic to style #10 : Celebrate civic buildings #11 : Amenities are for everyone #12 : Good street Geometry = Free Range Kids #13 : Recover Trusty Traditions #14 : Work with nature #15 : Pervious streets #16 : Original Green: Less is more

[@valeriev6670]

thanks need these answers for class lmao

[@marcelmoulin3335]

If only all small towns and cities were just as inviting and charming! Living in The Netherlands, I see too many villages, which were once utterly picturesque, expanding in the worst way imaginable--strip development, ugly sprawl. I am shocked and dismayed that despite all the planning regulations, the Dutch have seemingly embraced the proven unsuccessful approaches to city and town building of 1950's and 1960's America.

[@drewper73]

I was just there from June 19-24, 2017. I stayed in one of the townhouses in Ruskin Place I think it's called. At the 8:24 mark in the video you can see a green awning that says "Red Bird Gallery." We stayed in the townhouse two down from the Red Bird Gallery. My first experience with Seaside was over 10 years ago. We actually stayed in a little house in Seagrove. I fell in love with the architecture, the layout, the gazebos at the end of each street, Mr. Modica and his store, the little footpaths, all of it. I went back in 2010 and stayed in a house called "Whatcha Dune?" It was a few houses away from the chapel. I had a great time on that trip as well. Rented a bicycle and really covered a lot of ground. However, on this last trip and a trip we took in 2014, I started noticing that there were too many people. It's like Seaside isn't a little secret anymore. The cat's outta the bag. I might wait a few years before going back. I'll always love it though for what it is.

[@suewinter3693]

As someone who lives in this area (30 miles north), the cat IS out of the bag and isn't likely to go away anytime soon. Most locals are not happy with that cat either.

[@loganstroganoff1284]

You should've seen it and the rest of 30a in the early 90s. Seaside was like some mythical oasis. 30a was mostly desolate beachfront with a few houses and condos scattered about. My moms boss had a condo there and we used to go a couple times a year. So serene and peaceful. Now its an overcrowded nightmare.

[@NBportofino]

Rare brilliance!

[@firstmainfilms]

thanks Laura

[@russdaniel3099]

Nice! If I were going to live in a town, I would like for it to be a place like this.

[@sub_playz_yt4626]

Anyone else here for geography?

[@practicalproblems4114]

yup

[@idkwhattochangethistoo767]

Yup Same!

[@RomyIlano]

This is so cool! He’s such a great visionary

[@heatherspence3848]

This is great.

[@savannahlsteele]

Thank you First and Main!

[@firstmainfilms]

You're welcome!

[@MichaelESmith-fq7zg]

This is a great video!

[@suewinter3693]

As someone who grew up going to these beaches 60 years ago, I'm amused by the fact that he refers to the NATURAL landscape as ugly. NOW the place is wall-to-wall people, traffic, and PRIVATE PROPERTY signs. I understand that the owners rule, but it sure offended us locals when we could no longer walk across to the sand at Seaside after shopping and dining there.... because they blocked off the obelisk. On a more positive note, the shuttles are marvelous!

[@loganstroganoff1284]

It's sad how much of our gulf coast home has become commodified for the benefit of rich outsiders and tourists. My formerly quaint town has almost no true locals left. It's all been sold off, mostly to California and Yankee transplants who know nor care for nothing beyond their condos and beach homes. Many are surly and rude and complain constantly about things being different from "back home". That is a good note about shuttles. Where do they run from? I've been pushing the idea for shuttles or even a light rail line to come on to my little island from the mainland for several years. No one is receptive in the least so with each new hotel and condo development comes more traffic. It's just a shame.

[@danielasaza]

What happened to the other 4 parts of this 6 parts series?

[@al-du6lb]

I get so excited by these ideas, but slightly sad by thinking about how long these guys have been clearly stating their case and yet it has not caught on en masse. I am optimistic w/ the whole s Covid crisis as an opportunity to reintroduce these types of ideas because were going to need them the most now.

[@loganstroganoff1284]

Greedy developers sadly just won't ever give a damn I'm afraid. It's all about throwing up homes and businesses as quickly as possible and moving on to the next project. What's more they used cheap, unsustainable materials that degrade and have to be constantly replaced. My cousin bought a half million dollar home 5 years ago and the amount of repairs they've already had to do is insane.

[@baddriversofcolga]

I love how grass lawns are banned. I wish it was that way everywhere.

[@antoniastulz1685]

ive been going to seaside since i was really little and it was so small and empty and every time we come theres more people and its just becoming so unenjoyable.... so sad

[@DavidJGillCA]

+Antonia Stulz Every place in the world that is highly desirable and special in any way is overrun by demand - by tourists and by those who want to live there. In the modern world travel and relocation are easy and desirable and, let's face it, there are too many of us. The result is that these places are very expensive and are increasingly enclaves of the rich.

[@gildone84]

The reason they become enclaves of the rich is because there aren't enough of them. We've built 10s of thousands of crappy places in the US. If we had built 10s of thousands of good places like Seaside, cost and crowds wouldn't be a problem.

[@iiAngelic]

gildone84 it's all about supply, demand, and how much money you are willing to spend to build so many nice places.

[@gildone84]

Development happens. You can build good places or you can build crappy places. If zoning codes across America would allow good development, that's what would get built. This kind of development has been illegal in the vast majority of the country since the end of WWII.

[@emeeul]

I feel like it benefits from more people. Too few and it feels like the fake small town that it is really is. It feels like a real, vibrant place now. Change is inevitable.

[@meghand6864]

This was very informative! I love learning about interesting communities like this, this guy is intelligent, a little pretentious delivery but I enjoyed all the info

[@al-du6lb]

Lol. Andres is a bit highfalutin, but you gotta love him. If you want someone interested in similar ideas that's a little more unassuming, check out Charles Marohn from the Strong Towns organization. Many of his ideas came from people like Andres, but he's more focused on the smaller towns. His podcast is great.

[@celdaranaiilo6308]

The changes have been great, but I really miss old seaside - they're increasingly losing the cute small town feel. I BLAME YOU, TRUMAN!

[@reedspacer558]

The reason why the streets are so slow is because of how close the cars are parked to the streets. It creates an illusion. The streets are also a little narrower I believe.

[@onelove6177]

He is quite inspirational…

[@phantomsuccour]

I love it so much

[@chadnorris4923]

Say what you want but seaside is my favorites place in the entire world, maybe because of the experiences I've had there I guess

[@jjthomas2297]

Unfortunately, Seaside now is nothing more than a collection of vacation homes for the very wealthy, NOT the functioning "Walking" community envisioned..But hey, with homes starting in the 2 million dollar range, maybe you too can live there..shame

[@JustClaude13]

+JJ Thomas Excellent point. The design is extremely desirable and the supply heavily limited by restrictive zoning, so the wealthy bid the price up on what little there is. If they relaxed the zoning regulations so developers could choose to build the compact, walkable suburbs people want they could build enough for everyone who want's to live there and the prices would come down. Supply and demand sucks when government artificially suppresses the supply.

[@DavidJGillCA]

+Claude You have most of that backwards. Zoning regulations are not stopping developers from building walkable communities. Though there may be zoning requirements for setback, street widths or parking that may be limiting, that isn't what is making developers do what they do. It's not unusual for an enlightened developer to get a variance for a special zoning overlay district that can make for a more walkable community, but what makes developers do what they do is their own limited knowledge and their preferences to build what they know because they are risk averse and focused on profit, not the long term health of a community. They want to build what they know people will buy and that is all too often a house with a three car garage and a huge driveway and a ridiculously oversize badly designed interior, which describes the typical schlock mega mansion built by developers all over the country. And you are projecting this dumb political idea....an idea that frankly enrages me because it is so counter productive, that government and govt regulation is the problem. You have a perception that developers want to do the good thing but can't because of evil govt control and wrong headed regulation. This dumb, anti government idea that is the unquestioned certainty of conservative types is ruining us. There are exceptions, but in general developers are not the good guys. The way to change these things is thru government! The car oriented sprawl suburb originated with developers and the zoning regulations of today were massively influenced by developers of the past who have had and still have enormous political influence in many cities and many states. (The massive overdevelopment and speculative real estate market and it's crash were the result of the fact that Florida law is made by developers for developers.) Yes, a lot of zoning is counterproductive and needs to change and is changing but the preferences for auto oriented environments are hard to change.

[@JustClaude13]

+David J Gill You're absolutely right. We need to change a lot of really bad laws that favors cars over people and limits choices so people have to drive. Developers want to do what's easy and safe. They're neither good guys nor bad. They're just businessmen. While they could theoretically get variances for projects, it's expensive, difficult and time consuming to do so, so mostly they don't. In some places they can't because the bureaucrats are also risk averse. After all, they'll tell you, the zoning is there for a reason. One big reason being GM, who spent a fortune on lobbying and urban planning schools to make sure new construction would favor a need for cars. Minimum parking requirements, excessive lane widths and deep setback requirements all mandate an unwalkable and economically unsustainable environment. These codes have to be changed. And HUD requirements make it nearly impossible to finance a building with more than a low maximum of commercial space, so mixed use areas are difficult to fund. Banks are also risk averse and don't like financing any project that couldn't qualify with HUD. Yes, it has to be changed through government, and the first things that need to change are government policies that make traditional cities so difficult and expensive to build. There is a large unmet market for walkable communities, and plenty of developers would meet the demand if they could. Developers also like profits.

[@Cyrus992]

You all provide great points regarding Sprawl. The system sucks. However, the New Urbanism is NOT the right alternative. It also has plenty of downsides.

[@JustClaude13]

***** Everything has plenty of downsides. New Urban communities tend to be too formulaic, without the mixture of ages and sizes a dynamic environment should have. If done right, it's also very popular with the customers and self supporting, providing good profits for developers without the heavy subsidies for infrastructure that sprawl development requires. If not the best alternative, it's better than what we have now. What alternative do you prefer?

[@clambake444]

Thanks

[@spectrumboy6103]

instead of having cars, have maybe like golf carts or bikes since the roads are narrow

[@Badmemphisurbanism]

They do fine in Japan with much smaller roads.

[@spectrumboy6103]

@@Badmemphisurbanism yeah but they have smaller cars, where as the US and Canada have giant fat cars

[@mitonaarea5856]

@@spectrumboy6103 then switch to smaller cars. Most of Europe does that to.

[@dustywaxhead]

Apparently a lot of people in Seaside do use golf carts and the kids often opt for bicycles

[@kingdomofvinland8827]

@@mitonaarea5856 those places are small compared to North America.

[@JordanGoRetro]

All the ideas discussed in this video sound great, but when you're there, it really doesn't give that impression. I spent a few days there and its just kind of this hollow beach town that almost feels fake. All these shops and businesses he talks about are selling seashell necklaces, tie dye shirts and smoothies. The houses there are millions but is that what the wealthy are frivolously spending money on when vacationing? It was like this weird small town slash luxury without the luxury vacation movie set. Oh, and he wasn't lying about not having style. It's a sea of khaki shorts, new balance sneakers and pastel polos riding bikes.

[@felixguerrero6062]

Brother, its Florida, not Cote d'Azur. Seashell necklaces and khakis are our folkways. This is great beach town urbanism.

[@elsiebailey5469]

Too many tourist! I am thinking about pocket home neighborhoods ..

[@dhatchbernier]

As an architect, I've seen all too often the implications of building cheaply. Although I love the concept of this town, it does look and feel cheap and I'm sure maintenance will soon become a major issue if it hasn't already

[@emeeul]

I was just there last week and paid a lot of attention to the construction details and they don't look or feel cheap to me, at least the homes and the pavilions. I wonder about maintenance too, but looking at their code and requirements for paint and whatnot, I feel like it's not a problem yet because you need $$$ to stay legal. Things look very, very well-maintained from my perspective. One would think some of these places would look run down by now. Kind of like Key West, but newer. Folks there generally maintain their homes as well. Kind of like taking care of a wooden boat - there's required annual maintenance and you just kind of...do it.

[@epsilon2725]

ldcsb, who else?

[@deeeee17]

Lmao imagine being from london

[@reycisneros2925]

SAW THE GHOST OF Walt Disney, Walking Down The Street With A Bottle of Tequila........

[@harperwelch5147]

Wait. The central park space is ringed in parked cars? That's the backdrop? That's a mistake. The obvious overwhelming design mandate turned into a movie set, not a town. It doesn't have the quirky, homemade, imperfect things that make a place feel authentic or real. It's way too carefully scripted.

[@melmill1164]

In what world does this man live in? Affordable? To who? His friends? Himself? I want to show him regular American salaries. Another rich person oblivious to the real world.

[@jaredj9170]

US Median Yearly Family Income: $79,000. With both adults working: $99,000. US Census Bureau.

[@Andreas4696]

The point is that the town is affordable to build. Taxes, debts etc... could be lowered on a large scale, also health costs becomes of lower obesity, despression etc... The town is affordable to build, and would be very affordable on a large scale. The reason it isn't affordable is because it's so desirable on such a small area of land.

[@gildone84]

The reason it isn't affordable is because there aren't enough of these places in existence. Supply and demand.

[@bloodaxe5028]

Luna Rose it's a small town. People of Miami could easily afford it.

[@emeeul]

Wasn't Seaside originally very affordable? Over time, homes got bigger and wealthier people started buying lots/homes. One of the essays from the developer seems to imply that over time, the largest homes on 30A will convert to hotels or boarding houses, and the newer developments they've done (Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach) will be the new "it" communities.

[@nomaambundy9989]

Just the WORST non-native yuppie destruction of a community in North Florida History. Non natural community's built to invite out of state money'd vacationers. Overpriced non authentic living. It's a damn shame what has happened to the area, and no one seems to understand that all of the charm is being squeezed out of the area.

[@loganstroganoff1284]

Tell me about it. For so long the panhandle went unnoticed by the rest of the country. Now its being overrun by yankees and other outsiders. They are the absolute worst. They dont fit in at all and think that we should change to accommodate them.

[@danielasaza]

What happened to the other 4 parts of this 6 parts series?