Become a "Citizen Planner"

Two new publications are now available: Growth Management 101 under Florida's Community Planning Act and Citizen Participation under Florida's 2011 Community Planning Act. With drastic changes to state growth management law, your participation in the local planning process is now more important than ever. Find out how you can make a difference.

Creation of the new Department of Economic Opportunity-- August 15 Joint Progress Report: Department of Economic Opportunity SB 2156: Reorganization Report. Final Report: Organization Structure for the Department of Economic Opportunity. Article in The Current: Reports provide recommendations for new Department of Economic Opportunity

Florida Division of Community Planning and Development (DCPD)--Under the 2011 Community Planning Act, DCPD replaces DCA as the state's land planning agency. This site provides information on the 2011 Community Planning Act and its implementation.

Citizen Planning Bill of Rights--1000 Friends encourages communities to adopt the Citizen Planning Bill of Rights to give citizens greater opportunities to participate in the local planning process. This link is to the ordinance adopted by Gadsden County, Florida.

2011 Session--Find here some of the extensive media coverage on growth management generated during the 2011 Legislative Session.

Find out more:

Why Planning is an Effective Development Tool for Florida -- In light of the economic downturn, this consensus report from the state's leading planning and conservation groups outlines the economic benefits of protecting the state's most important asssets, saving taxpayer dollars, and developing a workable plan for Florida. 2011.

Smart Growth for Florida's Future -- The state's leading conservation and planning organizations joined together to develop some consensus recommendations on how to better promote smart growth in Florida. 2009.

Why Florida Needs Smart Growth -- This series of essays from some of the state's developers, elected officials, conservationists, and academics explores how smart growth benefits Florida. 2009.

Florida 2060 -- This series of studies examines how Florida will grow and developby 2060 if we do not change its patterns of development, and provides recommendations on how to follow the principles of smart growth for a better outcome. Materials inculde the Executive Summary, Statewide Summary, Regional Fact Sheets (Northwest, Panhandle and Big Bend, Northeast, Central, Southwest, Southeast and the Florida Keys), plus full reports Florida 2060: A Population Distribution Scenario for the State of Florida and A Time for Leadership: Growth Management and Florida 2060. Additionally, the University of Central Florida released Alternative 2060 which shows a different future for Florida.

Working to Sustain Florida's Rural and Natural Lands: A Call to Action -- 1000 Friends Chairman Emeritus Nathaniel Reed spoke with some of the state's leading conservationists, agricultural leaders, developers, planners and others and then crafted a series of recommendations to help stem the dramatic loss of Florida's rural lands to urban development. October 2007.

Florida's Evolving Large-scale Ecological Greenways System -- This report by Doug Alderson and Dan Pennington was prepared with the generous support of the Plum Creek Foundation. October 2010.

Florida’s Working Landscapes -Will They Be Around In The Future? Evolving Tools Can Assist In Their Conservation. January 2011.

Conservation Visioning: Creating An Action Plan for Parks and Land Conservation -- This brochure from the Trust for Public Land addresses the steps involved in successful land conservation efforts and shares success stories from around the nation.