Florida's population has dramatically expanded from around 2.8 million in 1950 to 15.6 million in 2000. The Census Bureau says that immigration, high birth rates and domestic migration will drive Florida's population to 20.7 million by 2025. Between 1970 and 1990 Florida's urban areas sprawled over one million acres of formerly rural land - natural habitats, farmland, and scenic open spaces often converted to strip malls, housing developments, and low-density commercial development (Kolankiewicz and Beck, 2000).

UNCONTROLLED GROWTH

Uncontrolled growth has created environmental, social, and economic problems that threaten to destroy the very attractions that made many move to the state and that both native Floridian and newcomer alike value highly.

BUILDING A NEW FLORIDA

Florida, like most of the nation, needs a plan of action to better address environmental, social and economic development. Seen at the state level, Florida's problem may appear too great and the solutions too elusive for effective action. But problems like urban sprawl, environmental degradation, and social injustice become personal and real in our communities where we live and work. We face these problems at the community level and we can solve them at the community level. Here, these abstract goals can be translated into concrete, effective action.

OUR VISION

In order to implement a strategy for sustainable development, members of the community must believe that they have the capacity to resolve their own problems and shape their own future. Strengthening the community's capacity is like weaving a web that creates a social network throughout the community, providing support for all and extending and strengthening cooperation and collaboration among people, institutions, organizations, and businesses. Even if it starts small, the network expands and incorporates more and more of the stakeholders. The network increases community cohesion and resilience through innovative partnerships, increased collaboration, and a shared vision of the future.

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH WORKSHOP - OVERVIEW

For the past 50 years, our community has undergone some major changes in every aspect imaginable. The population in our area alone has more than tripled, tourism replaced fishing as our primary source of income, and industry has taken over agriculture. Consequently, people no longer view Southwest Florida as a quiet getaway.

REVOLUTIONARY CHANGES

These rapid, revolutionary changes impacted our society so deeply, it is just recently that we are able to comprehend the challenges we now face. Realizing that developing community solutions are the first step, we have chosen to focus the third Gulf of Mexico Alliance Community Workshop on Sustainability as it related to Development and the increasing population in Southwest Florida.

GLOBAL ISSUES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

Sustainable community initiatives deal with global issues at the local level. There are as many paths to sustainable development as there are communities, which is why our focus will be on Local Community Design, Greenbuilding, and Sustainable Practices.

These recommended steps might help our community build and implement a sustainable vision of its own.

STEPS TOWARDS OUR GOAL

• Conduct a community assessment.
• Create a community vision and develop a roadmap for reaching that vision.
• Develop sustainability indicators to measure progress.
• Identify sources of help.
• Carry out projects and monitor, evaluate, and make adjustments as needed.