Mayor Jim Brainard has been selected as a new Governor of the Seaside Institute, a Florida-based institute that promotes the building of sustainable places across the globe through education and design. Mayor Brainard’s term begins immediately.
Brainard
“I am very honored to be invited onto this prestigious Board of Governors that includes many distinguished scholars and advocates of the movement to build walkable, livable and sustainable communities around the world,” Brainard said.
Seaside Institute describes itself as a small town based on big ideas – a charming tourist destination that inspired an urban planning movement now known as New Urbanism. For a generation raised in suburbia, Seaside’s invitation to get out of the automobile and walk was revolutionary. Time Magazine said the mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly community “could be the most astounding design achievement of its era.”
Like Seaside itself, the Institute is a proud incubator of ideas. Beginning in the 1980s, the Institute brought together early New Urban practitioners, coming together for the first time to discuss best practices in design, construction, retailing, market analysis and governance and to teach the techniques to others.
Positioned on the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle, Seaside is frequently threatened by hurricanes. By surviving these storms – and watching neighboring communities suffer significant damage – the Institute began to explore issues of disaster preparedness and resilience.
Seaside’s walkable design – and the lessened dependence on automobiles – spurred research into the benefits of walkable communities. These outcomes, including better health and the ability to age in place, became themes for the Seaside Institute’s research and seminars.
The institute selected Mayor Brainard, who is frequently asked to speak on city planning, climate change, redevelopment, and transportation networks, based on his experience of transforming Carmel from a sleepy suburb to a vibrant edge city. Mayor Brainard combined smart land-use planning, pioneered the use of financial modeling to impact zoning decisions and secured public-private partnerships to redevelop under-utilized land and create a thriving, vibrant city, Carmel, that is often listed as the best place to live, work, and play in America.
Brainard was also chosen because he has been a champion for the construction of roundabouts to replace traditional signalized intersections and four-way stops in Carmel, which has resulted in a safer, more efficient transportation network and reduced vehicle emissions. Notably, with its network of more than 145 roundabouts, Carmel’s fatality rate is one of the lowest in the country for a city its size. Accidents with injury were also reduced by almost 80 percent at intersections that were once controlled by traffic lights or stop signs. Carmel has more roundabouts than any city in America.
Learn more at SeasideInstitute.org.