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As we move through our daily lives, we notice the appeal of a community as we pass by. Over time, as we live and work in a community, the things that drew us to live there become ingrained in our existence. They quietly shape who we are and how we live.

The Seaside Prize recognizes individuals and organizations who, through design, have changed the way we live. Prize winners are thought innovators in the concepts, quality, and character of their industry. They are considered leaders of contemporary urban development and education who have made their vision a reality and, ultimately, our lives better.

Recipients of the Prize influence how towns and cities are built. They challenge our thinking about promoting diversity, walkability, sustainability, livability, and quality of life. From young to old–where we live is at the core of how we live.

MORE ABOUT THE SEASIDE PRIZE 2025

the weekend

annual Seaside Prize

Building a town requires plans, approvals, materials, and innovative design. Creating a great community requires a vision and the expertise of architects, engineers, planners, and more, all working together to create something that will not only house families, but improve their quality of life. The key characteristic of a great community is that it involves a balance of form and function – where beauty meets convenience, safety blends with practicality, and inviting, aesthetically pleasing spaces enhance everyday life.
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Living

the prize

Seaside Founder, Robert Davis, explains the origins and significance of the Seaside Prize.

SEASIDE Prize™ from SEASIDE Institute™ on Vimeo.

the weekend

At the Seaside Prize, visionaries convene in Seaside, Florida to honor the best of the best in their field. Attendees enjoy a weekend of symposia, tours, opportunities for continuing education credit, receptions, and more, culminating in the Awards Dinner on Saturday evening.

The weekend event is a celebration of innovation, community, and design, honoring the thought leaders and creators who help shape our lives through the communities they build. These are people who sparked a movement and continue to inspire a new era of thoughtful, impactful design.

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Jeff Speck

FAICP, FCNU, LEED-AP, Honorary ASLA

Jeff Speck

2022
Seaside Prize Honoree

The Seaside Institute honored Jeff Speck, FAICP, FCNU, LEED-AP, Honorary ASLA as the 2022 Seaside Prize recipient for his significant contributions to enhance the architectural community while advancing the tenets of New Urbanism. The Institute held the 29th Annual Seaside Prize on March 4-6, 2022.
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Living

Jeff Speck is a city planner and urban designer who, through writing, lectures, public service, and built work, advocates internationally for city planning at the pedestrian scale. He is best known for his book Walkable City, one of the most influential and widely read city planning texts of the current era.

While studying architectural history and design in the US and Italy, Mr. Speck became enamored with the work and lectures of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. After two summer internships, he joined the firm full-time upon graduation in 1993, and quickly became director of town planning.

Over the subsequent ten years, Jeff managed more than forty of the firm’s projects including Middleton Hills, Rosemary Beach, Heulebrug (Belgium), and downtown plans for Baton Rouge and Fort Myers. He also convinced Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk to turn their lectures into a book, which he drafted. Suburban Nation became the best-selling planning title of its decade, winning many converts to the cause of the New Urbanism.

Thanks in part to the book’s success, Mr. Speck was appointed Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts, where he presided over the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design. After four years in this role, he founded Speck & Associates, a private design consultancy now based in Brookline, MA.

Important work of Speck & Associates includes the Lowell Downtown Evolution Plan, walkability studies for fifteen different cities, and vision plans for two transit-oriented developments along the Long Island Rail Road. He also led street design for Project 180 in Oklahoma City, which has rebuilt 50 blocks of downtown city streets.

Jeff Speck’s books have been published in nine languages. With Andres Duany and Mike Lydon, he also wrote The Smart Growth Manual (2010). His most recent book, Walkable City Rules, was named a Planetizen “Best Book” of 2018. His TED talks and YouTube videos have been viewed more than five million times.

Speck joins a distinguished list of Fellows who have been honored with the Seaside Prize including Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Dhiru Thadani, Vincent Scully, Scott Merrill, Leon Krier, and other renowned designers and thinkers.

More on Jeff Speck can be found at jeffspeck.com.

Watch a preview of Speck’s upcoming documentary on walkable cities and how Seaside inspired his work.