DOWNTOWN SARASOTA: HINDSIGHT, INSIGHT, AND FORESIGHT

Architecture Sarasota is excited to announce the launch of Downtown Sarasota: Hindsight, Insight and Foresight, a four-part speaker series conceived to spark an informed and constructive community-wide discussion about downtown’s future. To be held at the Art Ovation Hotel, the six-week series will explore downtown Sarasota’s evolution over the last two decades with a group of four distinguished speakers—Andrés Duany, David Houle, Mitchell Silver, and Victor Dover. Speakers will address vital topics, including the current downtown master plan and how it was shaped two decades ago; how downtown has developed since then; the macro-level forces affecting the city; effective current downtown planning practices; and insights drawn from successful urban planning in other locales.

This series is made possible in part through the generosity of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Ian Black Real Estate, Howard and Sherry Davis, Richard and Pamela Mones, and Anne and Bob Essner.

gulfcoast community foundation 2024

ian black

weiner family foundation

This series is SOLD OUT

January 24, 2024 (6 – 7:30 pm)

Lecture 1 – Hindsight: How did we get here?

Andrés Duany, Founding Principal, DPZ Co-Design

Andrés Duany, Founding Principal of DPZ CoDesign, the principal consultants responsible for the current downtown master plan (Downtown Sarasota 2020) will offer an overview of downtown master planning that occurred between 1999 and 2000; outline the conditions under which the Downtown Sarasota 2020 plan was developed; detail the decision-making process and the rationales behind it; assess which of those decisions were successful and which didn’t quite pay off; identify the lessons DPZ learned from working on the Sarasota plan project and how a master plan prepared today would differ.

January 31, 2024 (6 – 7:30pm)
Lecture 2 – Insight, Part 1: Where are we now?

David Houle, Futurist

David Houle, renowned futurist and former Resident Futurist at Ringling College, will address the demographic, economic, political, and environmental macrofactors that have shaped Sarasota over the past 20 years. By analyzing the experiences of peer cities, paired with trends observed in Sarasota’s own recent history, Houle will also offer his perspective on the city’s future development.

February 14, 2024 (6 – 7:30pm)
Lecture 3 – Insight Part 2: What are best practices from other communities?

Mitchell Silver, Urban Planning Principal, McAdams

Urban planner Mitchell Silver, who has held the posts of Planning Director of Raleigh, NC; President of the American Planning Association; and Commissioner of New York City Parks & Recreation, will present on February 14th. Silver will provide an overview of how downtown masterplanning practices have evolved over the last twenty years, outlining new planning processes and the new sets of concerns facing city planners today, both in general and in Sarasota specifically.

February 28, 2024 (6- 7:30pm)
Lecture 4 – Foresight: How do we move forward?

Victor Dover, Founding Principal, Dover, Kohl & Partners

Victor Dover is Founding Principal of Dover, Kohl & Partners, a firm emphasizing New Urbanism principles as the foundation for sustainable town planning. Dover is the co-author of the widely-praised book, “Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns.” His firm was just honored with the prestigious 2024 Seaside Prize, which is considered one of the top awards in the city planning field.

https://www.doverkohl.com/

Dover’s presentation will focus on effective master planning in Florida, including the special opportunities and constraints of planning in the state and how to create effective, meaningful master plans.