The Seaside Institute recently announced that Donald Shoup, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA, will be honored as the 2023 Seaside Prize recipient for his radical rethinking of parking policy.

In his groundbreaking 2005 book, The High Cost of Free Parking, and his work since then, Shoup changed the way cities view the relationship between parking and the built environment, traffic congestion, energy consumption, and local economic development.

The Institute will hold the 29th Annual Seaside Prize on February 24-26, 2023.

Last year’s winner, Jeff Speck, wrote in his seminal Walkable City Rules: “Parking covers more acres of Urban America than any one thing, and yet planners have neglected it for years … that was until the research of one man, who helped change the way planners think about parking forever.” That man was Donald Shoup. As noted in The Wall Street Journal, Shoup is described as a “parking rock star” whose works have inspired a group of followers dubbed Shoupistas.

The New York Times wrote that Shoup’s work “has led to a revolution in ideas about relieving congestion.” The High Cost of Free Parking and Shoup’s 2018 book, Parking and the City, remain classics in the fields of transportation and city planning. J“If your city wants to focus on one topic for reducing traffic congestion, improving housing availability, cleaning the air, lessening climate change, making government more efficient, and enlivening the economy—all at the same time—then it should focus on parking,” said Jeffrey Tumlin, the author of Sustainable Transportation Planning.

The Seaside Institute awards the Seaside Prize annually to individuals, organizations, or places that have made major contributions to the quality of the built community. Recipients have significantly influenced how towns and cities can best be built and rebuilt to reflect and promote New Urban principles, such as walkability, affordability, diversity, beauty, and sustainability.

In addition to his position at UCLA, Shoup is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, an Honorary Professor at the Beijing Transportation Research Center, a winner of the American Planning Association’s National Excellence Award as a Planning Pioneer, and the American Collegiate Schools of Planning’s Distinguished Educator Award. More on Shoup can be found at ShoupDogg.com.

For Walton County, Florida, like other areas throughout the country and world, parking and traffic congestion are critical challenges. With wit and humor, Shoup will present solutions that he discovered over many years of research.

Marketing and Events Director, Christy Milliken states that “this is a weekend you won’t want to miss… as we also have an excellent speaker lineup that includes the keynote address by former CNU (Congress for New Urbansim) Director, Rick Cole. In addition we will have symposium with the following speakers throughout the weekend, William Fulton, Henry Grabar, Norman Garrick, M. Nolan Gray, and Elizabeth Moule.

The weekend will include a welcome reception on Friday, February 24th at The Court in Seaside FL with food by Black Bear Bread Company and the keynote address by Former CNU Executive Director, Rick Cole.
Saturday, February 25th will be a full day that begins with a walking tour of Seaside, FL, followed by AM and PM Symposium. We will then honor Seaside Prize Winner, Donald Shoup at the Award Ceremony to take place at The Chapel at Seaside and will conclude with a Gala Dinner at Bud & Ally’s Waterfront Dining. We will close the weekend on Sunday, February 26th with guided tours in Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach.

The Prize Weekend is an opportunity for all who have an interest in New Urbanism, walkable communities, and human-scale planning and design.

While the Prize Weekend is often of interest to architects, planners, and design students, all members of the community are invited to attend and learn why parking and traffic can be manageable with the right policies.

“You don’t have to be a planner to appreciate Dr. Shoup’s insights. Everyone in our community will be enlightened by his perspectives on why “free parking is anything but free,” said Seaside Institute Executive Director Thomas Cordi. 2023 Seaside Prize tickets are available now; visit Seasideinstitute.org for more information.

To learn more, visit the Seaside Institute, or follow them on Facebook.