Parallel utopias
Subtitle: the quest for community : the Sea Ranch, California, Seaside, Florida
By: by Richard Sexton ; with contributing essays by Ray Oldenburg and William Turnbull, Jr.
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Published: 1995
Place of publication: San Francisco
Language: eng
Number of pages: 168
Subjects: Sea Ranch Condominium; Seaside Community Development Corporation (Seaside, Fla.); New towns -- United States -- Planning; Planned communities -- United States; Suburbs -- United States -- Planning; Automobiles -- Social aspects -- United States
Other titles: Sea Ranch, California/Seaside, Florida
Description: As the twentieth century draws to a close, the desire for communities that offer an improved quality of life - where the pedestrian is as viable as the motorist; where the architecture is varied, human-scaled, and responsive to its environment; where residents can find privacy yet enjoy the company of their neighbors - has taken on a particularly significant urgency.

As Richard Sexton convincingly documents in Parallel Utopias, two special places - The Sea Ranch in Northern California and Seaside in the Florida panhandle - have arrived at two unique solutions in the search for the ideal community. A lively introductory essay outlines the nature of this archetypal quest, followed by an engaging discussion of the philosophy, architecture, history, and character of both communities.

Sexton's sumptuous full-color photographs tour each community in detail, from their built environment and the surrounding dramatic coastal landscape to the furnishings residents have chosen for their homes. In their contributing essays, urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg analyzes with piercing clarity the evolution and contradictions of our contemporary communities, and architect William Turnbull, Jr., lucidly examines the role of the architect in shaping viable living spaces.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 167) and index.