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Seaside on the JHK Podcast
Tags architecture, new urbanism
James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, recently visited Seaside to participate in a Seaside Institute forum on the economic impact on New Urbanism. He was also the recipient of the 2009 Seaside Prize for his written contributions toward furthering the New Urbanism movement.
As a follow up, he dedicates one of his weekly podcasts to his visit to the South, including Seaside and other New Urbanist communities. Listen in for Jim's perspective of how these communities came to be and how they are functioning now. KunstlerCast Podcast #51.
Jim explains how the South has developed to the level we see today, due to inexpensive fuel and as a result the car is the unit of design. Inexpensive fuel encouraged sprawl by providing massive highway projects and the ability to cheaply condition living space (air conditioning), making the South more hospitable to human habitation. He looks at how this building engine caused the New Urbanists to became hostages of massive scale projects and how those projects are waning in the new economy.
New Urbanism was a counter to the increasingly popular suburban developments and an effort to recreate communities that capture the spirit of a place. Seaside was the original iconic New Urbanist project that has often been criticized for being elitist. The owner and designers, Robert Davis & DPZ, never dreamed it to be so hugely successful, and in fact, envisioned a bohemian beach town that would be comprised of artists and hippie boomers. Because of the simplicity of design, walkability, and sense of community, Seaside attracted the attention of wealthy professionals and well known architects making it a real estate success.
Indeed, some of these towns seem like contrived toon towns, as mentioned on another SoWal thread. They are contrived, meaning they have been purposefully created as opposed to being created organically. Andres Duany of DPZ has said many times over, these are just assemblages of ingredients and like a stew, a town needs to cook for some time to develop its flavor or character. I'm paraphrasing, but I think the point is understood.
Jim concludes his discussion by noting that architects will probably be doing less large scale projects and the profession may change all together. For instance, they may morph into design/build firms where they are active participants in the building process.
Check out the podcast for the full discussion and JHK's website for more information about him and his "actualist" point of view. James Howard Kunstler
As a follow up, he dedicates one of his weekly podcasts to his visit to the South, including Seaside and other New Urbanist communities. Listen in for Jim's perspective of how these communities came to be and how they are functioning now. KunstlerCast Podcast #51.
Jim explains how the South has developed to the level we see today, due to inexpensive fuel and as a result the car is the unit of design. Inexpensive fuel encouraged sprawl by providing massive highway projects and the ability to cheaply condition living space (air conditioning), making the South more hospitable to human habitation. He looks at how this building engine caused the New Urbanists to became hostages of massive scale projects and how those projects are waning in the new economy.
New Urbanism was a counter to the increasingly popular suburban developments and an effort to recreate communities that capture the spirit of a place. Seaside was the original iconic New Urbanist project that has often been criticized for being elitist. The owner and designers, Robert Davis & DPZ, never dreamed it to be so hugely successful, and in fact, envisioned a bohemian beach town that would be comprised of artists and hippie boomers. Because of the simplicity of design, walkability, and sense of community, Seaside attracted the attention of wealthy professionals and well known architects making it a real estate success.
Indeed, some of these towns seem like contrived toon towns, as mentioned on another SoWal thread. They are contrived, meaning they have been purposefully created as opposed to being created organically. Andres Duany of DPZ has said many times over, these are just assemblages of ingredients and like a stew, a town needs to cook for some time to develop its flavor or character. I'm paraphrasing, but I think the point is understood.
Jim concludes his discussion by noting that architects will probably be doing less large scale projects and the profession may change all together. For instance, they may morph into design/build firms where they are active participants in the building process.
Check out the podcast for the full discussion and JHK's website for more information about him and his "actualist" point of view. James Howard Kunstler
Total Comments 6
Comments
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Thanks so much - what an interesting blog!Posted 02-22-2009 at 09:02 PM by Tootsie
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Thanks Chandra - added to SoWal.com home page.Posted 02-23-2009 at 03:59 PM by kurt
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Chandra, I love your blogs. Thank you.
I remember hearing JHK say something about how reading his last two books -- Long Emergency and World Made by Hand -- might tempt some to "get in a warm tub and open a large vein." Long Emergency definitely did a whammy on me....it seemed absolutely prophetic, especially since I finished reading it just DAYS before Katrina.
What saved me from having to get in the warm tub, among other influences, was frequent re-reading of one of my favorite utopian/dystopian novels, The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk. I commend this beautifully imagined, visionary work to anyone looking for inspiration towards a more hopeful and redemptive way to create our future than Kunstler's. And for what it's worth, Starhawk's female characters have far more believability and depth than Kunstler's women in World Made by Hand, where women mostly serve as objects, servants and plot devices.Posted 02-26-2009 at 08:55 AM by Susan Horn
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Chandra I agree. New urbanist was meant as a counter to the suburban sprawl...not meant to be an elitist town. [Which makes listening to owners wanting to privatize their section of beaches all the more infuriating...but that's a blog for another occasion]. What Seaside is now, a shining example that we need to raise the bar once again. People are slow to change. We've had it too good-too easy for too long. The old models of how towns grow won't work..[or rather they won't work well]. If Walton County is to continue to flourish, they need to reinvent the wheel of what will atract people here- how will they live? etc, etc.. SWCC need to have a broader goal of how this community will grow cohesively. Adopting DPZ's transect code might not solve all the problems but it would lay down a good foundation for us to start in the right direction. If Montgomery Al can adopt the code within 10 mins- I think Walton County can too.
Good Post Chandra!Posted 02-26-2009 at 09:21 AM by Highlander
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Ah, Susan, yes...Caveat lector or reader beware. I forget the first time shock of discovering that we are experiencing a "living arrangement with no future" as told by JHK. I see The Fifth Sacred Thing and World Made By Hand as the bookends of the collective stories of post apocolypticism -- one woman's perspective, one man's perspective. Funn stuff.Posted 02-26-2009 at 12:36 PM by Chandra
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Chandra, I've been watching Ted Talks all day. Needed my batteries recharged. Came across JHK's tedster show and thought folks here might like to watch it too --
ted.com/index.php/talks/james_howard_kunstler_dissects_suburbia.html
And as antidote to JHK's accurate but nunerving negativity, what better way to calm the nerves than with TEDster William McDonoughs' Cradle to Cradle presentation:
ted.com/index.php/speakers/william_mcdonough.html
Not sure why the JHK link isn't showing up as a hyperlink. May have to cut and paste it into URL box if clicking doesn't work.Posted 02-28-2009 at 04:44 PM by Susan Horn
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