Despite its historical significance and its state-mandated comprehensive planning approach, the Florida growth management experiment has received only piecemeal attention from researchers. Drawing together contributions from national experts on land use planning and growth management, this volume assesses the outcomes of Florida‘s approach for managing growth. As Florida‘s approach is the most detailed system for managing growth in the United States, this book will be of great value to planners. The strengths and weaknesses of the state‘s approach are identified, providing insights into how to manage land use change in a state continuously inundated by growth. In evaluating the successes and failures of the Florida approach, planners and policy makers will gain insights into how to successfully implement growth management policies at both the state and local level.

A number of US states have recently developed innovative growth management plans with the aim of preserving their environments and meeting the rising backlog of unmet infrastructure needs while sustaining economic growth. This volume outlines the current US experience with growth management planning through a thorough examination of the issues involved. It explores individual state's experiences and goes on to examine more specific aspects: environmental protection, economic imperatives, transportation demand and housing evaluation. The book concludes with a look to the future and discusses the emerging problems and innovative concepts in the field.