Santa Barbara: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow – A Virtual Dialogue Series

The City of Santa Barbara faces many challenges, including the need to develop more housing and a plan to revitalize its downtown core. We have reached an important crossroads. Anthony Grumbine will introduce this Dialogue Series.

Join us this spring for a free, five-part virtual dialogue series hosted on Zoom Webinar featuring some leading minds in the history, methodology and practice of principled urban development.

The City of Santa Barbara is exploring ways to revitalize its downtown core and provide more housing to meet our workforce needs as well as statewide housing requirements while remaining committed to keeping Santa Barbara’s character. How should we respond to the interrelated and multifaceted challenges Santa Barbara currently faces?

Throughout this series participants will learn how other, similar urban and suburban communities reached and implemented successful pragmatic solutions, how Santa Barbara developed and maintained its unique character, and how a better understanding of the history of that character development, coupled with some important lessons learned elsewhere, can help inform us about how we should respond to Santa Barbara’s urban development demands of today as well as prepare for the challenges of tomorrow.

Today, at the Crossroads – March 10, 2021, 6pm

The City of Santa Barbara faces many challenges, including the need to develop more housing and a plan to revitalize its downtown core. We have reached an important crossroads. Anthony Grumbine will introduce our Dialogue Series and will address the many questions and concerns that the City administration and our community stakeholders are grappling with as efforts to move forward with an actionable plan intensify.Understanding Yesterday: Architectural History & Theory

Understanding Yesterday: Architectural History & Theory – March 24, 2021 · 6PM · Zoom Webinar
Faced with new challenges, including state-required housing mandates, the City of Santa Barbara is looking for ways to revitalize its core and provide more housing for a growing population. Architectural historian Dr. Dennis Doordan will provide a historical perspective on the urban development of Santa Barbara in the context of the revival of interest in traditional urbanism in the United States.

Traditional Urbanism for Today & Tomorrow –  April 6, 2021 · 6PM · Zoom Webinar
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Santa Barbara is in need of long-term, sustainable urban and suburban development solutions. We need to consider our present and future urban design needs within the context of keeping Santa Barbara’s character. Utilizing the method of looking to our past and to experts to give us clarity and direction for making decisions about Santa Barbara’s future, renowned Greek American architect Stefanos Polyzoides will share his challenges and successes, most notably his acclaimed design efforts in revitalizing another similar-sized Southern California town, the City of Pasadena.