The Seaside Prize - James Howard Kunstler - THIS WEEKEND

I know there has been some confusion about the Kunstler events-
from the way we understand it, the morning discussion and the afternoon awarding of the Seaside Prize are open to the public and free of charge? And the $250 tix are for Friday night cocktails, and Saturday night dinner?

Yes, you are absolutely correct. The discussion and awarding of The Seaside Prize are both free and open to the public. Those two events will be held in the Seaside Lyceum Meeting Room located next to the Seaside Neighborhood School on the second floor.

If you are interested in the cocktail party or the dinner by Chef Scot Peacock, please contact The Seaside Institute to reserve your space.

In addition, we have just added another great event as a part of the weekend's celebration. Kunstler will host a book signing at Sun Dog Books at 2:45 on Saturday, along with the authors from Views of Seaside.

Thanks- looking forward to this weekend!

I want to encourage everyone to come and listen to Kunstler's provocative and frightening prognosis for our children's future in a country , and world, without a source of cheap fuel. His ideas transcend New Urbanism and architecture.

If you could post a transcript or his article, that would be appreciated by those of us who can't make the lecture (already committed to Chataqua) but would like to hear what he has to say. :wave:

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Howard_Kunstler"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Howard_Kunstler[/ame]

James Howard Kunstler (born in 1948, New York City, New York) is an American author, social critic, public speaker, and blogger. He is best known for his books The Geography of Nowhere (1994), a history of American suburbia and urban development, and the more recent The Long Emergency (2005), where he argues that declining oil production is likely to result in the end of industrialized society as we know it and force Americans to live in localized, agrarian communities. He has written a science fiction novel conjecturing such a culture in the future, World Made by Hand in 2008. He also gives lectures on topics related to suburbia, urban development, and the challenges of what he calls "the global oil predicament" and a resultant change in the ?American Way of Life.? He is also a leading proponent of "The New Urbanism" movement.

James Howard Kunstler

James Howard Kunstler: Biography and Photographs

James Howard Kunstler says he wrote The Geography of Nowhere, "Because I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, housing tracts, mega-malls, junked cities, and ravaged countryside that makes up the everyday environment where most Americans live and work."
Home From Nowhere was a continuation of that discussion with an emphasis on the remedies. A portion of it appeared as the cover story in the September 1996 Atlantic Monthly.
His next book in the series, The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition, published by Simon & Schuster / Free Press, is a look a wide-ranging look at cities here and abroad, an inquiry into what makes them great (or miserable), and in particular what America is going to do with it's mutilated cities.
His latest book, The Long Emergency, published by the Atlantic Monthly Press in 2005, is about the challenges posed by the coming permanent global oil crisis, climate change, and other "converging catastrophes of the 21st Century."
The Atlantic Monthly Press also published his novel, Maggie Darling, in 2004.
Mr. Kunstler is also the author of eight other novels including The Halloween Ball, An Embarrassment of Riches. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times Sunday Magazine and Op-Ed page, where he has written on environmental and economic issues.
Mr. Kunstler was born in New York City in 1948. He moved to the Long Island suburbs in 1954 and returned to the city in 1957 where he spent most of his childhood. He graduated from the State Univerity of New York, Brockport campus, worked as a reporter and feature writer for a number of newspapers, and finally as a staff writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. In 1975, he dropped out to write books on a full-time basis. He has no formal training in architecture or the related design fields.
He has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT, RPI, the University of Virginia and many other colleges, and he has appeared before many professional organizations such as the AIA , the APA., and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
He lives in Saratoga Springs in upstate New York

I cannot state enough how great this should be - Kunstler is an engaging speaker and both Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater Zyberk (DPZ masterplanned Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Draper Lake and Alys Beach in our neck of the woods) will be there as well. 3 pioneering minds in SoWal.

For those fans of James Howard Kunstler who wish to take home a one-of-a-kind souvenir of his visit to Seaside, please visit The Seaside Store to purchase a t-shirt commemorating "The Long Emergency." There is a very limited supply, so make sure to pick one up today!

And for those of you who attend, please keep in mind that the Seaside Institute is a non-profit organization like the Seaside Repertory Theater. They are not a part of the Seaside Community Development Corporation or The Merchants of Seaside. They receive the bulk of their monies through donations and memberships so consider supporting them so that they can continue to put on great community events like the Seaside Prize and Escape to Create.

Their purpose is...

"The Seaside Institute is a non-profit organization promoting the building of community in cities and towns through design, education and the arts.

The Institute promotes a full and informed civic life with a variety of educational and cultural programs. These programs, which focus on community enhancement, the built and natural environment, urban planning and architecture, appeal to an international constituency. Institute members and programs contribute significantly to the dissemination of New Urbanism/Smart Growth ideals and information."

For more information, visit their website The Seaside Institute - New Urbanism Forums and Seminars or call (850) 231-2421. I feel like I should add, "tell 'em BeachSiO2 from Sowal.com sent you (j/k)" 😀

Please remember that there are two wonderful events as a part of The Seaside Prize Weekend that are free and open to the public, including the lecture/prize ceremony featuring James Howard Kunstler. The two free events are:

Saturday, January 31st
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
The Impact of the Economic Crisis on New Urbanism and Smart Growth
A Forum and Panel featuring:
Robert Davis, Andres Duany, Jim Kunstler, Steve Nygren, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
Seaside Lyceum Meeting Room
42 Smolian Circle

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Seaside Prize Ceremony
2009 Seaside Prize Recipient: James Howard Kunstler
A Lecture & Prize Ceremony
Seaside Lyceum Meeting Room
42 Smolian Circle

Do not forget today's free events featuring James Howard Kunstler during The Seaside Prize Weekend Celebration:

Saturday, January 31st
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
The Impact of the Economic Crisis on New Urbanism and Smart Growth
A Forum and Panel featuring:
Robert Davis, Andres Duany, Jim Kunstler, Steve Nygren, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
Seaside Lyceum Meeting Room
42 Smolian Circle

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Seaside Prize Ceremony
2009 Seaside Prize Recipient: James Howard Kunstler
A Lecture & Prize Ceremony
Seaside Lyceum Meeting Room
42 Smolian Circle

Somehow, my 16 year old made it to the Prize ceremony, but I didn't.:(

I did purchase his book The Long Emergency, and asked him to sign it to Will. He politely obliged, signing "To Will- this is some important sheet so study up!" James Howard Kunstler:floor:

I wish I could have attended the panel discussion this morning too- heard it was fantastic. I heard both events were recorded- how can we hear them?

Podcasts are being posted on the Seaside institute's web site. Anticipated to be up by end of next week. I took an audio recording and will let you know if it turns out and pass it around.

I am not sure that this is the best place to post this, but it seems appropriate enough.

As it turns out, a sense of place trumps cookie cutter developments when it comes to real estate holding value. This supports one of the assertions made by the panel yesterday, that being that the sand is quickly running out in suburbia's hour glass.

...attachment to place appears to have buttressed the city's housing market during a time of widespread weakness.
New Orleans home prices up in the city, down in the suburbs - Breaking News from New Orleans - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com