Smart, Quality Growth
Is Central Florida growing as envisioned?
Central Florida accommodated unprecedented population growth over the last half of the 20th century by developing in a sprawling, low-density pattern. The costs of this development pattern are evident: rapid conversion of open space to build more houses, loss of agricultural land, encroachment on sensitive environmental areas, significant increases in water and energy use, and over-reliance on cars for transportation.
Smart, quality growth was identified as an early priority in Central Florida because of the recognition of the negative consequences of prior development patterns, as well as the positive impacts of developing vibrant urban centers for future quality of life and global competitiveness. Beginning in 2006, over 20,000 citizens and more than 500 leaders – including elected officials from every county and many of the region’s 86 cities – collaborated in a historic 18-month conversation to help answer the question, “How Shall We Grow?” This “community conversation” pointed to strong consensus around four key concepts – the 4C’s of Central Florida’s future growth: Conservation, Countryside, Centers, and Corridors.
It is too early to demonstrate significant results on actual development patterns from the region’s embrace of these four concepts. This report highlights implementation progress to date, and identifies valuable benchmarks to measure the region’s future progress in achieving smart, quality growth.
The world’s advanced economies have urban centers with a high quality of life and an abundance of job and educational opportunities to attract new residents. Central Florida’s average annual population growth within cities over the last decade has been as rapid as some of the world’s fastest developing economies – indicating that our city centers are attractive destinations for residents. Yet, despite this steady growth, less than half of Central Florida’s population lives within a city. Increased regional attention to developing or redeveloping strong urban centers is key to achieving the principles of the regional growth vision.