Songs about urban development and land use are hard to come by, but Melanie Hammet has an entire album of them. Hammet, mayor pro tem of the City of Pine Lake, Ga. (population: 730), released the seven-track album Edifice Complexin April 2010. Since then, she has been balancing the dual responsibilities of performer and public servant. (click on the link for full article)

 

 

 

 

Melanie Hammet jokes from the microphone about the many other potentially sexy subjects she could sing about. Maybe she’ll devote her next album to insomnia. Or vegetables. Or asphalt! Everyone in the audience laughs in that way that nerds do when they’re forced to admit most of the world finds their passion really boring (and we count ourselves among said nerds). (click on the link for full article)

 When was the last time you heard someone make the case for the “soulfulness” of zoning?

                    Or capture the essence of “third place” theory in a song?     (Click on the link for the full story)

In January 2009, Melanie Hammet was accepted to The Seaside Institutes Escape To Create residency, having submitted a proposal to write songs that distilled urban planning concepts to human-sized basics: (read full story on website)

Watch the video---it's "Edifice" unplugged!

There's no doubt that where we choose to live, work and play all contribute to our individual perceptions of quality of life. Land use influences our mobility and dictates how we spend our time and money, among other things. And in a growing region like ours, there has never been a more important time to get smart about managing growth. . . (read full story)

 

 

Hammet, a professional musician with other recordings to her name, said the music “explores our disjointed and disconnected relationship with land-use, the pre-eminence of the automobile and community relationships.”

We also featured singer/songwriter/activist Melanie Hammet on the show during both the morning and evening segments. (listen to full story)

The 2010 Seaside Institute Prize was awarded to Allan B. Jacobs, author of Great Streets. Mr. Jacobs, Liz Plater-Zyberk, Robert and Darryl Davis, and Melanie Hammet comprised the panel for the Saturday discussion.