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social ecology of growth management: An analysis of Florida's urban communities
Title
The social ecology of growth management: An analysis of Florida's urban communities.
Creator
Watson, Robert P., Florida Atlantic University, DeGrove, John M.
Abstract/Description
That growth management as a field of study is relatively young is observable in the lack of theory about the phenomenon. Not surprisingly, the literature contains numerous criticisms of the inadequacy of existing research and calls for the development of empirically-based decision-making models and theory in the field. This paper studies cities and counties in Florida with the objective of analyzing the "social ecology" of urban growth-managing communities. Here, the term social ecology is...
Show moreThat growth management as a field of study is relatively young is observable in the lack of theory about the phenomenon. Not surprisingly, the literature contains numerous criticisms of the inadequacy of existing research and calls for the development of empirically-based decision-making models and theory in the field. This paper studies cities and counties in Florida with the objective of analyzing the "social ecology" of urban growth-managing communities. Here, the term social ecology is used to represent social forces in the policy macroenvironment. At present there is no clear answer as to what community characteristics are associated with growth management policy and what are the social pressures underlying community growth-managing policy orientations. A dynamic and complex policy issue, growth management is conceptualized in this study both broadly and operationally in terms of five major policy issues pertaining to growth management: Economic development/redevelopment; housing; infrastructure; environmental protection; and urban design/community character. Governments of the 36 counties and 28 cities in Florida with populations of at least 50,000 were surveyed to obtain information on their growth management policy priorities. Of the approximately one dozen states currently employing statewide, comprehensive systems to manage growth, Florida is considered a national leader. Furthermore, as it has been experiencing one of the nation's highest growth rates over the past two decades, Florida is an important growth management data source to study. The research involved two stages. The first stage used bivariate statistical analyses and tests of association to identify those variables in the urban social ecology related to each of the growth management policy issues studied, from which descriptive models of association were constructed. The second stage used factor analysis to identify and analyze the principal factors characterizing the growth management policies, from which broad theory about the social ecology of growth management was developed. In summary, this study analyzes and explains growth management policy in terms of three principal factors characterizing the urban community. The study offers descriptive models and theory analyzing the forces that shape growth management policy and thus provides a conceptual framework for policy analysis to assist policy makers with decision making. Equally important, the findings provide direction for further study in the field.
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Date Issued
1991
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12286
Subject Headings
Urban Ecology (Sociology)--Florida, Community Development, Urban--Florida
Format
Document (PDF)
Targeting and economic development in Florida
Title
Targeting and economic development in Florida.
Creator
Guffey, Ryan Lane, Florida Atlantic University, Ivy, Russell L.
Abstract/Description
This thesis analyzes the use of targeting in four Florida cities: Gainesville, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, and Pensacola. Many Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) target certain industries to bring to their community. Often, these assessments are based on assumptions about quality of jobs and the impact they would have on the community. Geography is left out of the equation. Biotechnology (SIC 2836), Airplane and Parts (SIC 372), Corporate Headquarters (represented by administrative and...
Show moreThis thesis analyzes the use of targeting in four Florida cities: Gainesville, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, and Pensacola. Many Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) target certain industries to bring to their community. Often, these assessments are based on assumptions about quality of jobs and the impact they would have on the community. Geography is left out of the equation. Biotechnology (SIC 2836), Airplane and Parts (SIC 372), Corporate Headquarters (represented by administrative and auxiliary functions), and Printed Circuit Boards (SIC 3672) industries have been identified as targeted industries and are examined in depth. Various cities in the study set have chosen to target these industries. This thesis then goes on to explain where these industries typically locate and whether their characteristics match the Florida communities.
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Date Issued
1997
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15380
Subject Headings
Industrial location--Florida, City planning--Florida, Economic development--Florida, Community development, Urban--Florida
Format
Document (PDF)
Pursuit of agency profits: An evaluation of community redevelopment agencies in Florida
Title
Pursuit of agency profits: An evaluation of community redevelopment agencies in Florida.
Creator
DeLaney, Kimberly D., Florida Atlantic University, Miller, Hugh T.
Abstract/Description
The influence of public choice and economic theory in public administration has increased the pressure upon government to "act like a business." Accordingly, cities have become increasingly entrepreneurial, creating redevelopment agencies and venturing into public/private partnerships with mixed results. A key financial tool for redevelopment agencies is tax increment financing (TIF), which yields increased agency revenues from increased property values. As agency activities increase property...
Show moreThe influence of public choice and economic theory in public administration has increased the pressure upon government to "act like a business." Accordingly, cities have become increasingly entrepreneurial, creating redevelopment agencies and venturing into public/private partnerships with mixed results. A key financial tool for redevelopment agencies is tax increment financing (TIF), which yields increased agency revenues from increased property values. As agency activities increase property values, agencies are rewarded with increased revenues, much like profits for a business. The cyclical nature of TIF encourages a self-perpetuating tendency towards economic activities among self-interested, opportunistic agency actors, namely agency staff, elected officials, and business stakeholders who benefit from agency economic successes. Through a survey of Florida agencies and in-depth evaluation of five case studies, this research explores a series of questions regarding aspects of community redevelopment agencies: agency activities (either commercial or social), outcomes (agency TIF profits), and three theoretical constructs affecting the implementation environment (participation by business and non-business stakeholders and CRA structure as related to agency decision-making independence). The findings indicate that agencies conducting a predominance of commercial activities generated the highest rate of agency profits in the form of TIF revenues. In the implementation environment, the choice of agency activities was influenced by stakeholder participation. Agencies with mostly business stakeholder participation tended to conduct mostly economic activities, during both plan adoption and implementation. Conversely, agencies with predominantly non-business stakeholder participation, especially as a shift from business dominance, tended to prioritize social activities. Regular stakeholder participation, particularly by business interests, tended to increase as agency profits increased, underscoring the cyclical tendency towards economic activities. CRA structure varied among the cases. It appeared that more economic activities tended to occur when CRA structures were more autonomous, with a high degree of decision-making independence from parent local governments. However, while some agencies maintained high degrees of autonomy over time, autonomy was rescinded in others due to agency mishaps. Overall, economically-oriented goals in these agencies tended to win out over socially-oriented goals unless and until the under-represented "public" became unusually involved (revolts) or agencies were radically redirected by dissatisfied elected officials.
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Date Issued
2004
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12118
Subject Headings
Urban renewal--Florida--Case studies, Community development, Urban--Florida, City planning--Florida, Tax increment financing--Florida, Urban policy--Economic aspects--Florida
Format
Document (PDF)
High Resolution Population Distribution Estimates for Improved Decision Making, With a Case Study of Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability in Boca Raton, Florida
Title
High Resolution Population Distribution Estimates for Improved Decision Making, With a Case Study of Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability in Boca Raton, Florida.
Creator
Ziegler, Hannes Moritz, Xie, Zhixiao, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
Abstract/Description
Planners and managers often rely on coarse population distribution data from the census for addressing various social, economic, and environmental problems. In the analysis of physical vulnerabilities to sea-level rise, census units such as blocks or block groups are coarse relative to the required decision-making application. This study explores the benefits offered from integrating image classification and dasymetric mapping at the household level to provide detailed small area population...
Show morePlanners and managers often rely on coarse population distribution data from the census for addressing various social, economic, and environmental problems. In the analysis of physical vulnerabilities to sea-level rise, census units such as blocks or block groups are coarse relative to the required decision-making application. This study explores the benefits offered from integrating image classification and dasymetric mapping at the household level to provide detailed small area population estimates at the scale of residential buildings. In a case study of Boca Raton, FL, a sea-level rise inundation grid based on mapping methods by NOAA is overlaid on the highly detailed population distribution data to identify vulnerable residences and estimate population displacement. The enhanced spatial detail offered through this method has the potential to better guide targeted strategies for future development, mitigation, and adaptation efforts.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004670
Subject Headings
City planning -- Remote sensing, Community development, Urban -- Florida -- Boca Raton, Geographic information systems, Population -- Geographic information systems -- Florida -- Boca Raton, egional planning -- Florida -- Boca Raton, Spatial analysis (Statistics), Urban geography -- Remote sensing
Format
Document (PDF)