Fragmentation and Collaboration

Central Florida is unique in its environment, its quality of life, its economy and in the way its local governments and jurisdictions developed over time.

As you will see below, this history has created a fragmented landscape of decision-makers. But as the region becomes a significant competitor in the global marketplace, fragmentation is beginning to rob the community of economic opportunity and prosperity.

To respond, a new mindset is required. Developing this mindset is the underlying goal of myregion. The program is designed to get leaders from all corners of Central Florida talking to one another, sharing ideas and realizing that decisions made by one have profound effects on the others.

That is why fragmentation is a major Regional Resolve for the myregion project. By uniting fragmented communities, Central Florida can pool its resources to face other challenges like education, the environment, growth, economic leadership and quality of life.

From the myregion SourceBook, the following is a series of observations and recommendations related to fragmentation in Central Florida.

Facts of the Matter
Historical study, research of this community and others, and analysis of recent attempts at regional consensus have revealed the following observations:

• Historically, world-class regions like New York, London and Shanghai have grown from strong urban centers that gave structure and order to their growth. This is not the history of Central Florida.
• Our region emerged as a series of decentralized and self-contained towns, each with its own complement of housing, jobs and cultural amenities.
• While our fragmented region does have some noteworthy accomplishments, they are dependent solely upon the efforts of an individual or small group and not institutionally guided or system driven.
• Growth has caused previously separate communities to abut and coalesce.
• Political, business, and civic leadership – structured around local interests – is finding it difficult and often impossible to act in concert to address regional concerns.

What Does it Mean?
All of the data and observations point to an ominous theme:

• Growth has the potential to overwhelm Central Florida’s ability to respond to it. The result will be persistent problems that become more complex as the area grows, with increasing resistance to solutions offered up at less than a regional level.