The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town  Seminar, March 16-19, 2002 (Miami, Florida)

The final seminar for the first cohort of Knight Fellows (2001-2002) also served as the inaugural seminar for the new (2002-2003) Fellows and was held in March 2002. This joint seminar allowed both classes to attend sessions together and allowed the new class to hear the final presentations of the 2001-2002 fellows, including a presentation on the previous year’s charrette. The joint seminar also facilitated the beginning of the Knight Program Community Building Network of the Fellows, Scholars, and friends of the Program.

All Fellows, some Scholars, faculty and guests from the South Florida region attended one-and-a-half days of guest lectures by Jeff Speck (co-author of Suburban Nation), Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, David Rusk (regionalism expert and author of books including Cities Without Suburbs), Andres Duany, Victor Dover, Buff Chase (developer of Mashpee Commons town center in Mashpee, Massachusetts), Lee Sobel (Knight Fellow and author of “Greyfields No More,” a study of the redevelopment of dead shopping malls), Rob Steuteville (publisher of New Urban News), and David Brain (Professor of Sociology, New College of Florida in Sarasota, an expert on civic engagement).

The majority of the program was devoted to presentations by the graduating Fellows on their individual research projects and the Beall’s Hill Charrette. Separate sessions were held with the graduating Fellows to discuss the preparation of their final research papers and documentation from their presentations following the seminar, and to evaluate the program and get their input on ways to improve the seminars and workshops in the future. A separate session with the new Fellows was held to discuss potential charrette communities, the schedule for the year ahead, and their research interests.