Does Florida still have growth issues, given the current economy?
What’s happened is that Florida has followed the trend of many Sunbelt states – more roads, more traffic and more development – that has led to the current downturn in the market. We’re finding there is a need to move in a different direction. If you look at the “How Shall We Grow?” work, the current trends are not sustainable. We’re finding the trends are toward more walkable mixed-use and multimodal places. Suburban development will be with us for a long time to come, but there’s a growing demand for the walkable places. We are underserving that market. I think that market needs help because, in some cases, mixed-use walkable places are not allowed under current codes. We have institutionalized the current system. More municipalities are changing their codes to allow a mix of uses. They’re focused more on the quality of the development than on the prescriptive qualities. It’s not so much about how many square feet you have but how compatible and user-friendly and attractive the place
