Contact: Christopher Dudley
305-456-1625
May 17, 2004
South Florida Regional Report Card Shows Gains and Losses Since 2001
South Florida has grown to seven interdependent counties from Key West to Vero Beach, and the region is getting mixed marks on its latest report card released May 17 by the Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES) at Florida Atlantic University.
Updating a 2001 study on the region's indicators of prosperity and prospects for the future, Regional Shift: South Florida in Transition shows real ties among seven east coast counties from Indian River County to the north to Monroe County in the Florida Keys. The region's environment, housing, transportation, and other physical features all register lower grades. The study says issues facing people or the economy show no change-neither improving nor declining.
"All 5.7 million people in South Florida should be concerned about this report," says James Murley, J.D., director of CUES at FAU and former secretary of community affairs for the State of Florida. "While some indicators show improvement, there are many more areas that need attention. This is a wake-up call to leaders from Key West to Vero Beach of what needs to be done."
Areas needing improvement include habitat and environment, mobility (transportation), housing, and employment and wages. South Florida received improved marks in water, community life and civic engagement, and the emerging economy.
"The areas showing improvement are significant," says Allan Wallis, Ph.D., an expert on measuring regional indicators, associate professor of public policy at the University of Colorado at Denver, and author of the 2001 study. "Water has been a concern for a long time, and South Florida is making strides. The improving emerging economy bodes well for the future. Increased community life and civic engagement shows that the population cares about its future and is willing to do something about it."
Areas remaining neutral-showing no improvement or decline-are land use, youth development, education, and the established economy. "Another positive," says Murley. "A few years ago, some of those areas were facing decline."
This study updates Imaging the Region: South Florida via Indicators and Public Opinions, which was released in 2001 and showed upward trends in "place and the economy" and civic engagement; declines in human capital, water, land, and mobility; and a neutral in South Florida's "community of communities."
"The earlier study was done before 2000 census results were released. So this one has updated census information as well as surveys and studies conducted since then, looking at quality of life and other issues," says Lenore Alpert, Ph.D., manager and director of ocean and coastal programs for CUES at FAU. "One striking feature shows how the area's Latin American and Caribbean roots have moved northward to Broward and Palm Beach counties."
The report also shows that as South Florida's economic and social ties to Latin America and the Caribbean have strengthened, the region has grown northward to include Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties.
"Port St. Lucie has the potential of becoming one of South Florida's largest cities in the next 10 to 20 years. So the region's growth is shifting north," says Murley. "The question becomes whether you try to manage this phenomenon or just let it happen."
Regional Shift: South Florida in Transition will be used by government, civic, and business leaders to identify the region's strengths and weaknesses and to measure progress on critical issues, according to Murley.
"Another positive trend that's emerged since 2001 is that leaders are well aware that they're not functioningin a local vacuum-they are part of a larger region with common challenges and opportunities," he says. "There is a lot of evidence of regional cooperation that did not exist three years ago."
Regional organizations emerging and growing in the past few years include the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Regional Business Alliance, Internet Coast, Tri-County Leadership Council, Sustainable Treasure Coast, South Florida Consortium for Higher Education, and the South Florida Regional Resource Center. In 2003, the region's core area-Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties-was designated as a Metropolitan Statistical Area, the nation's sixth largest, promising to bring increased Federal support to the area.
Through a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the report focuses on indicators closely linked to sustainable development, which will lead to a Regional Inventory in 2005 to help formulate a national system of regional indicators across the nation. For more information on the report, visit www.soflo.org.
The Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, originally founded in 1972 as the Florida Atlantic University/Florida International University Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems, is focused on regional thinking and action to identify problems and to develop workable solutions facing urban regions. For more information, visit www.cuesfau.org.
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