Planning for the Future

Look across the country, and in cities and regions experiencing the same explosive population as Southwest Florida lie positive and negative growth management strategies. With more than one million people expected to call Southwest Florida home in the next several years, methods used in cities such as Atlanta, suburban Portland and Silicon Valley can serve as positive examples as the region tries to assuage the pains of rapid population growth and the resulting urban sprawl.

However, “this is not a one-size-fits-all-solution,” says David O’Neill, director of Land Use Policy for the Urban Land Institute. Growth management, he says, requires a choice in solutions—choices in housing, transportation and land use. That is why it is important to keep in mind that the issues related to growth management are regional in nature and therefore, require regional solutions. With that said, perhaps we can still learn a thing or two by examining cities and regions where city officials, business leaders and others are combating, and even in some locations preventing, the myriad of problems that can arise from the lethal combination of poor planning and rapid growth.

“Some people are starting to be proactive and build coalitions consisting of public and private folks, but people are busy and so (the issue of growth management) doesn’t really hit home until a crisis hits,” O’Neill says. Such was the case in Atlanta a few years ago.

Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA)—Atlanta

Anyone who has gotten stuck in Atlanta’s notorious traffic knows what a harrowing experience rush hour can be. In fact, this southern city’s transportation problems have been cited by major corporations there as being the No. 1 impediment to business growth in the region. Enter GRTA (referred to as “Greta”).

The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority is the superauthority for a 13-county region of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. In 1999, when the Environmental Protection Agency chastised Atlanta for not meeting Clean Air Act standards, the region suddenly found its federal transportation dollars cut off. In response, the business community, along with public officials, pushed for the creation of GRTA.

GRTA, designed to improve air quality and mobility, has the ability to make high-power decisions, such as denying road-building funds to local governments for projects that could worsen traffic congestion. An example of “a crisis that generated political support” for growth management, O’Neill points out that while GRTA has yet to exercise its authority (it’s still relatively new at only 2 years old), they have the “ability to use that authority.”

Developing a prototype for others to follow, GRTA is an example of a regional effort geared toward combating the problems associated with sprawl and rapid growth. “A lot of the regions that are concerned, especially with air quality, see Atlanta as a model that they can replicate,” O’Neill says.

As traffic congestion along Southwest Florida’s roads continues to increase, and along with it a darkening of our own tropical air, it is not unthinkable that we will one day need to establish our own regional transportation group, hopefully before we reach the point that Atlanta did.

Orenco Station—Hillsboro, Ore.

Nationally recognized for their on-the-ground examples of growth planning, Portland has numerous examples of growth efforts in action. One such effort is the Orenco Station development, a 190-acre, master-planned community in suburban Portland. Hailed for its pedestrian-friendly design, easy access to mass transit and mixed-use nature, Orenco Station is an ideal example of the types of communities that can be created and successfully maintained in response to a sprawling suburban landscape.

Located at a stop on the Tri-Met MAX light-rail line connecting Portland with its many suburbs, the Orenco Station community has a range of housing types, from townhouses to single-family homes to loft apartments, all of which were, according to the ULI, built at densities higher than that of the norm for the area.

Orenco Station also features another key aspect of growth management and planning—mixed-use development. These types of projects maximize space by creating housing above ground floor retail or office establishments in the town center. Another big draw is the preservation of green space, as the community features numerous connecting parks that eventually lead to the light rail station. In Orenco Station, the green space is a big appeal for buyers who are willing to pay more than 20 percent above the area average to live there. If done well, mixed-use projects are win-win situations for both residents and developers.

As newcomers move to our sunny shores, perhaps the idea of mixed-use, master-planned communities at a higher density than normal could serve us well. It is likely that eventually we are going to run out of space for one more sprawling golf course community and then we’re going to have to decide where to put new residents who are also looking for a piece of paradise.

Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group—Silicon Valley, Calif.

In this technological epicenter, the public and private sectors are working together to proactively combat the problems that could develop as a result of population growth. The Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group was created in the late ‘70s to determine what actions needed to be taken to preserve the quality of life and the economic infrastructure in light of explosive population growth. “It really is smart growth in action,” O’Neill says.

Currently, the group of concerned citizens is incorporating mass transit, improved highway connections and developing affordable housing within the Valley in an effort to further prevent the influx of problems that could have resulted from poor planning in such a fast-growing region.

“Silicon Valley really got out ahead,” says O’Neill. “The business leaders out there understand and recognize the importance of maintaining the quality of life to obtain employees.” And while many areas around the country have recently suffered a loss of qualified employees due to a declining quality of life, Silicon Valley laid the groundwork for sustainability.

Southwest Florida is taking steps to ensure our future success, but are we moving fast enough and in the right direction? The creation of Lee County’s Smart Growth Task Force was the first step along the road to sustainability and Collier County is following suit. However, how long until we recognize the need to combine forces and establish a regional public/private effort?

And there are others...

Take a look at Lincoln, Neb., and Santa Margarita, Calif., and it becomes evident that growth management has become a top priority in a number of cities and regions nationwide. If Southwest Florida is to avoid the problems of our inevitable growth (and it is, without question, inevitable) then we need to do our research, learn from others and be proactive.

How we can best accommodate our future growth in a manner that simultaneously achieves our community’s economic, environmental and social objectives? Next month, we’ll take a look at some of the problems that result from poor growth planning and places where they now are bearing some of the burdens associated with those problems.

Kristin Nail is a freelance writer and visiting instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University.