The Seaside Prize is symbolized by a bronze map key, in an exquisite wood enclosure crafted by E.F. San Juan
CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA - Victor Dover and Joseph Kohl, the founders of the town planning firm Dover, Kohl & Partners, have spent their careers spurring the revival of traditional neighborhoods, walkable streets, preservation of livable communities, and conservation of our natural environment.
A canal scene, one of the Dover-Kohl designs at I’On
On February 3rd, 2024, their commitment to better cities and towns was honored with the 30th Annual Seaside Prize. The award is named after Seaside, a celebrated Florida town built on traditional neighborhood principles. Seaside’s renown prompted the creation of the Seaside Institute, a driving force for the New Urbanism movement. New Urbanism prioritizes building sustainable places people love, where they can get to know their neighbors, drive less, and live fuller lives. The Seaside Prize was initiated by Robert Davis in 1993 and is awarded annually. According to the Institute, “The Seaside Prize recognizes individuals and organizations who, through design, have changed the way we live. Prize winners are thought innovators in concepts, quality, and character of their industry and considered leaders of contemporary urban development and education, who have made their vision a reality; and ultimately our lives better.”
The Prize has honored a line of towering figures in urban design and architecture that includes Jane Jacobs, Léon Krier, Aldo Rossi and Robert A.M. Stern. Now two thinkers from Coral Gables are part of this esteemed circle.
To commemorate the occasion, Seaside Institute hosted a sold-out “Prize Weekend” celebration with guest speakers, tours, and discussions, leading up to the award ceremony. In addition, dozens of current and former collaborators at the Dover-Kohl office joined in an online reunion to share their stories
Dover & Kohl in their South Miami office in the early 1990s
Dover and Kohl with Robert Davis at the Seaside Prize ceremony, 2024
Collaborators, Leaders, Educators
Dover and Kohl, as urban designers, town planners, and futurists, have been bringing new life to traditional towns, addressing suburban sprawl, and reforming regulations through their firm since 1987. Their connection traces back to their undergraduate years studying architecture in the early 1980s, where they cultivated a passion for innovative visual media experiments and “architecture at the scale of the community, not just the building.” The collaborators were awarded the John Nolen Medal in 2010 for contributions to urbanism, and, more recently, recognized as Fellows of the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU). Dover and Kohl were participants in the very first CNU Congress in 1993, signatories of the Charter of the New Urbanism, and advisors for the curriculum of the National Charrette Institute.
Park Avenue in Winter Park, as reconfigured by Dover, Kohl & Partners. Photo by Jay Hood
Dover lectures widely, and is co-author of Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns, widely acclaimed as the leading textbook in the field. He has enriched the conversation on urban development through his short film series, Town Planning Stuff Everyone Should Know. He is an adjunct faculty member in urban design and real estate development at the University of Miami. Dover wrote the essay on Streets in the Charter of the New Urbanism book. Known for persistence and challenging the status quo, Dover was nicknamed “the Michael Jordan of urban planning” by business leader Quint Studer. Dover has served as president of the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, president of the Rotary Club of South Miami, and a board member of Tropical Audubon Society. As a former triathlete, Dover was a five-time Ironman finisher; today he is likely to be found leading long walks and bike tours to size up conditions in the towns where his team is working. He’s known for admonishing the team to “start with the green parts,” that is, to begin the design with the parks, squares and tree-lined streets, and let these public spaces shape the private real estate prospects.
Kohl helped pioneer “before-and-after” computer imaging that has since become mainstream in city planning. Joe's passion and dedication to detail shows in everything he does, from acting as business manager, code writer, parks planner, housing designer, urban history enthusiast, illustrator, computer modeler, genealogist, or antique furniture collector. He is a leader in site design and redevelopment planning. He is recognized for organizing and leading effective “designing in public” events, working alongside community members with an ear for listening and a patience for finding workable solutions.. Co-founding the Form-Based Codes Institute with Dover and a handful of colleagues, he has served on its board of directors for more than two decades. Recently, Joe attracted national attention for a COVID-era passion project: his plan for Seleneca, a future settlement on the moon; it wasn't just a way to challenge his passion for drawing, but was also an outlet for creative writing. Reflecting on his diverse roles, Kohl said, "There’s nothing quite like watching people take pride in their communities, implementing positive change."
The Wheeler District, a new neighborhood in Oklahoma City designed by Dover, Kohl & Partners
Impact on South Florida
The Dover, Kohl & Partners team has had lasting impacts on our region. That history played a pivotal role in being selected for the prestigious Seaside Institute honor.
After Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992, the firm orchestrated South Miami’s revitalization by conducting an extraordinarily public planning process, swiftly rewriting land development regulations and implementing street redesigns. The results have included transit-oriented development, rescues of historic structures, neighborhood revival, and walkability upgrades in the heart of town. That plan catalyzed a series of improvements such as the reconstruction of the outdoor scene along Dorn Avenue, now known as the social center of the downtown. “It’s hard to remember, but outdoor dining was actually prohibited by law in South Miami at the time,” Dover said. “We went from boarded-up buildings and $6 per square foot rents to white tablecloth restaurants and $65 per square foot rents, and then more, in just a handful of years.”
The South Miami success story inspired the creation of the Downtown Kendall Master Plan and Code. When ChamberSouth executives first referred to the greater Dadeland Mall / Datran area in the late 1990s as “Downtown Kendall,” heads turned. The plan was created when the area had very little housing, and no walkable places, despite the nearby retail offerings, workplaces, and two Metrorail stations. Following the creative plan, about 10,000 much-needed dwellings have been newly developed in Downtown Kendall, all within proximity to transit and in a walkable neighborhood—no small feat in a region struggling with both housing scarcity and epic traffic congestion. Transit ridership at the two stations has since surged.
Guiding initiatives such as the Ludlam Trail, Dover and Kohl continue to elevate Miami-Dade County. Their plans for transforming 5.6 miles on a former railroad right-of-way into a dynamic linear park and trail system are now funded and construction is slated to begin in 2025. Ludlam Trail will unite schools, parks, residences, shopping areas, places of employment, and transit stops via a world-class trail tailored for safe walking, running, and bicycling. Dover and Kohl are also actively engaged in the Commodore Trail master plan, helping the City of Miami and Friends of the Commodore Trail realize a long-sought five-mile pathway linking Coral Gables and Coconut Grove to the Brickell area. Once fully implemented, the Commodore Trail will secure a nonmotorized connection from the Old Cutler Trail in the south to the Rickenbacker Trail and the Underline in the north.
Pilot project: A “Gables Greenways” temporary cycle track
In Coral Gables, Dover, Kohl Partners contributed to the City’s multimodal transportation plan and the “Gables Greenways” pilot program for combining traffic calming, tree planting and beautification with much-needed bike infrastructure. The firm also produced the innovative design code that governs redevelopment in the Plaza area and conceived dramatic makeovers that have been carried out on the surrounding streets.
The dramatic makeover of Clematis Street in West Palm Beach
In West Palm Beach, Dover, Kohl & Partners produced the award-winning redesign for Clematis Street, the downtown main street. Clematis Street is held up as a national model for its flexible, curbless, slow-speed design.
Another landmark project of the firm is the regional blueprint for the seven counties of Southeast Florida over the next fifty years, popularly known as the “Seven50” plan. Dover, Kohl & Partners organized an extensive public process to create the plan, involving thousands of participants. That undertaking was one of the largest regional planning efforts in modern American history, emphasizing transit-oriented development, resilience, and adaptation to sea level rise and other effects of climate change. The return of passenger rail to the Florida East Coast Railway corridor, the S.M.A.R.T. plan for transit, and regional cooperation on climate were all inspired and accelerated by Seven50.
Above: Images from South Main. Members of the Dover-Kohl team examine a new street with developer Jed Selby. [L-R: Jed Selby, Pam Stacy King, James Dougherty, Robin Crowder, Mike Mayer, Mari Chael, Josh Frank, Buz Selby, Brandon Boudreaux]
National Prominence
By the 1990s, the duo of Dover and Kohl had established a respected national practice. They have consulted on and designed plans in 30 states, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Central America, and Australia. The projects have ranged in scale from the redevelopment of a handful of city blocks to regional plans that cover thousands of square miles. Well-known examples include the new neighborhoods of I’On in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, South Main in Buena Vista, Colorado, Southside and the Bend in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Glenwood Park in Atlanta, Georgia; and the downtown plans for Richmond, Virginia, Montgomery, Alabama, and Oakland, California. Collaborating with DK&P project directors and principals, Dover and Kohl have recently worked on the detailed vision for removing Interstate 81 through downtown Syracuse, New York, restoring its community grid; post-hurricane recovery plans for Panama City, Florida and St. John in the US Virgin Islands, and a complete reform of the citywide development regulations for Kingston, New York.
After completing over 500 projects across the country and abroad, Joe and Victor aren’t slowing down. Reflecting on the Seaside Prize, Joe said, “We don’t see it as a lifetime achievement award. It has echoes of that, but we will keep doing what we have been doing. I plan to expire leaning over a map, coloring an illustrative plan.” Victor added, “We’re just getting started.”
