Over the course of years, changes in lifestyle, population, physical wear and tear, and inconsistent architectural and aesthetic standards began to warrant attention.
 The charming narrow tree-lined streets that were designed in 1918 for an occasional car were now struggling to accommodate multiple vehicle families.
A variety of storm doors and front door overhangs, added in the 1950s for protection from rain and snow, were not in keeping with the Georgian architectural style.
The same was becoming true for replacement windows and other architectural elements.
A significant number of the original mature trees were aging out and needing to be replaced.
However, one of the biggest concerns was the need for storm water management throughout the Village.

The effects of chronic flooding after significant rain events were causing street and parking lot flooding, soil erosion, occasional basement flooding, and some thought perhaps even some foundation settlement.
The concern about the long-term effect of the structure of the buildings, the need to set some architectural standards, and to prioritize the wishes of the community, prompted the formation of the Historic Preservation Committee in 2009.

Soon thereafter, the Committee approached the Yale School of Architecture's Urban Design Workshop  (YUDW) to discuss a possible collaboration for the development of a Master Plan.
The Plan would provide the community with direction on the inter-related issues of preservation, design guidelines, storm water management, landscape and streetscape, and traffic and parking, as well as looking at options for future development.
The Board of Directors approved their proposal and the Committee then submitted it to the Fairfield County Community Foundation for funding.
Seaside Village was awarded $24,000 in October 2010 to begin work on its Master Plan.

The Yale team consisted of Alan Plattus, YUDW Director, Andrei Harwell, YUDW Project Coordinator, and Alex Felson, Landscape Architect.
The other partners on this project were the City of Bridgeport, the Regional Plan Association and the Seaside Village community.
 Two years of works ensued, including surveys and meetings with community members and various city officials to gather data.
In addition to the contracted Master Plan, the installation of the rain garden was added to the project.
 The rain garden provided the solution to end flooding on the far parking lot.

The Seaside Village Master Plan delivered what it promised in terms of direction on preservation, design guidelines, storm water management, landscape and streetscape, and traffic and parking, as well as options for future development.
 The Seaside Village Sustainable Master Plan consists of a 77-page document published by the Yale Urban Design Workshop and Urban Ecology and Design Lab on December 12, 2011.

The Master Plan also played a role in the Rebuild by Design project, which had been created in response to the devastation in the northeastern United States caused by Superstorm Sandy.
 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force initiated the Rebuild by Design Competition (RBD).
The competition created innovative community and policy-based proposals to protect coastal communities most at risk due to increasingly severe weather events and future uncertainties.
 During the final phase of the competition, the team focused on Bridgeport to integrate urban development with natural systems, so that Bridgeport could become a model for other cities along the Long Island Sound and throughout New England.

   Seaside Village's Master Plan gave Bridgeport's proposal a credible research and data-based document that addressed the kind of sustainability issues that the Rebuild by Design team would focus on for the city.
 Yale's prior involvement with Seaside Village's Master Plan and the knowledge base that they acquired from this project enabled them to link their research to the larger scale issues facing Bridgeport that this national competition was addressing and helped to
Over the course of years, changes in lifestyle, population, physical wear and tear, and inconsistent architectural and aesthetic standards began to warrant attention.  The charming narrow tree-lined streets that were designed in 1918 for an occasional car were now struggling to accommodate multiple vehicle families. A variety of storm doors and front door overhangs, added in the 1950s for protection from rain and snow, were not in keeping with the Georgian architectural style. The same was becoming true for replacement windows and other architectural elements. A significant number of the original mature trees were aging out and needing to be replaced. However, one of the biggest concerns was the need for storm water management throughout the Village.
The effects of chronic flooding after significant rain events were causing street and parking lot flooding, soil erosion, occasional basement flooding, and some thought perhaps even some foundation settlement. The concern about the long-term effect of the structure of the buildings, the need to set some architectural standards, and to prioritize the wishes of the community, prompted the formation of the Historic Preservation Committee in 2009.
Soon thereafter, the Committee approached the Yale School of Architecture's Urban Design Workshop  (YUDW) to discuss a possible collaboration for the development of a Master Plan. The Plan would provide the community with direction on the inter-related issues of preservation, design guidelines, storm water management, landscape and streetscape, and traffic and parking, as well as looking at options for future development. The Board of Directors approved their proposal and the Committee then submitted it to the Fairfield County Community Foundation for funding. Seaside Village was awarded $24,000 in October 2010 to begin work on its Master Plan.
The Yale team consisted of Alan Plattus, YUDW Director, Andrei Harwell, YUDW Project Coordinator, and Alex Felson, Landscape Architect. The other partners on this project were the City of Bridgeport, the Regional Plan Association and the Seaside Village community.  Two years of works ensued, including surveys and meetings with community members and various city officials to gather data. In addition to the contracted Master Plan, the installation of the rain garden was added to the project.  The rain garden provided the solution to end flooding on the far parking lot.
The Seaside Village Master Plan delivered what it promised in terms of direction on preservation, design guidelines, storm water management, landscape and streetscape, and traffic and parking, as well as options for future development.  The Seaside Village Sustainable Master Plan consists of a 77-page document published by the Yale Urban Design Workshop and Urban Ecology and Design Lab on December 12, 2011.
The Master Plan also played a role in the Rebuild by Design project, which had been created in response to the devastation in the northeastern United States caused by Superstorm Sandy.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force initiated the Rebuild by Design Competition (RBD). The competition created innovative community and policy-based proposals to protect coastal communities most at risk due to increasingly severe weather events and future uncertainties.  During the final phase of the competition, the team focused on Bridgeport to integrate urban development with natural systems, so that Bridgeport could become a model for other cities along the Long Island Sound and throughout New England.
   Seaside Village's Master Plan gave Bridgeport's proposal a credible research and data-based document that addressed the kind of sustainability issues that the Rebuild by Design team would focus on for the city.  Yale's prior involvement with Seaside Village's Master Plan and the knowledge base that they acquired from this project enabled them to link their research to the larger scale issues facing Bridgeport that this national competition was addressing and helped to
Seaside Village Historic District