The City of Pompano Beach Youth Sports Complex Park
The Pompano Beach Youth Sports Complex Park entailed redevelopment of a parcel formerly owned and operated as the “Elks Club” into a Youth Sports Facility. The City’s first goal was to preserve green space for public use and create a brand-new park for its children. The park creates linear connectivity to the Sample McDougal House, a historically significant and registered house that’s over 100 years old.
Broward MPO, City of Deerfield Beach-NE 3rd Avenue-Make Broward Better at Tedder
The proposed improvements include a lane repurposing between NE 39th Court and NE 44th Street with temporary center turn lane and sidewalk extension, three new crosswalks, and five enhanced crosswalks.
Dania Beach PATCH TM
To reduce slum and blight and improve the quality of life in urban residential/mixed-use districts, the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) created the PATCH community garden with the help of a $35,000 grant from the Broward Regional Health Planning Council. Located on 1.6 acres and previously a trash dump, the PATCH is now one of the largest community gardens in Broward County. The program facilitates meaningful connections across the community, including gardeners, educators, students, and researchers while providing opportunities to cultivate friendships, strengthen neighborhoods, improve nutrition, and enjoy therapeutic activities.
City of Palm Beach Gardens Mobility Plan
The City of Palm Beach Gardens Mobility Plan provides the framework to integrate land use and transportation improvements for people to safely, comfortably, and conveniently use multi-modal forms of transportation to easily move and connect people from home to work, parks, offices, shops, and all of the great places throughout the City. The Mobility Plan identifies improvements necessary to achieve this goal by improving and connecting sidewalks, adding trails and designated bicycle lanes, enhancing streetscapes, dedicating transit lanes, and planning for enhanced access to a proposed future Tri-Rail station.
Doral Glades Park Nature Center
The City of Doral has demonstrated that this project is encouraging the use of smart growth principles by incorporating many sustainable design elements, including the following:
Passive building design with an energy-efficient roof and windows that reduced energy consumption by 59% compared to the baseline model.
Preservation of perimeter trees, shrubs, and undergrowth during the site’s landscape development.
Use of native plants with an irrigation system designed to maximize water conservation.
Exclusive use of LED lighting with occupancy sensors throughout.
Sensors on water features in and around the building, with predictions of annual potable water savings of 43.3% compared to a baseline case.
Low- and no-VOC paints, adhesives and sealers.
This nature and recreation center contains a 9,000-square-foot building with a community e-library, meeting rooms, and a multi-purpose room for classes and events. In addition, the center has a nature exhibit and a projection room showcasing the history of the Everglades, situated just west of the center. “Nature is a big part of who we are as a city, but before this center, we didn’t have anything that focused on the Everglades,” says Barbara Hernandez, Parks and Recreation Director at the City of Doral.
City of Hollywood Regional Activity Center Rezoning Project
The City has demonstrated that this project is encouraging the use of smart growth principles by encouraging attractive and functional mixed-use to strengthen and direct development towards existing communities, fostering mixed-use neighborhoods, providing a range of housing opportunities and encouraging stakeholder, community, and regional collaboration.
Village of Palmetto Bay Downtown Master Plan
The winning project is the development of the Village of Palmetto Bay’s Downtown Master Plan and Downtown Urban Village Regulations. Both the master plan and the regulations were found to exemplify a municipalities commitment to creating a community that preserves and enhance their residents’ quality of life while helping to protect public health and the environment. Since adopting the new plan and the regulations in 2016, the Village of Palmetto Bay has plans for the development of 12 projects totaling 1,500 residential units and 462,000 square feet of commercial uses. This project was designed by Woolpert.
Gran Forno Bakery Parklet
This is the first parklet in the City of Fort Lauderdale. A parklet provides a way to convert on-street parking to other uses, such as seating or other options. The parklet is designed to expand and enhance the urban scene. It provides a buffer between traffic and pedestrians and patrons.
City of Fort Lauderdale Connecting the Blocks-Creating Options for Moving People
The City of Fort Lauderdale underwent a visioning process from 2010 to 2013, where it asked neighbors to envision Fort Lauderdale in 2035 and suggest ideas to achieve the City you never want to leave. Over 1,560 ideas were transformed into “Fast Forward Fort Lauderdale: Our Vision 2035.” The Vision initiative showed that residents want Fort Lauderdale to be a prosperous and united community of distinct neighborhoods with ample transportation options and a focus on resiliency and sustainability. Over 45% of the “big ideas” captured through the visioning process called for connected development, with complete streets being the second highest request overall.
The City took the Vision to task, crafting and adopting policy to advance the Vision, including its complete streets policy that is ranked third in the nation. The City did not stop at the vision or the policy, keeping the momentum going by developing its long-term multimodal infrastructure plan, Connecting the Blocks in 2014. Achieving this goal will require a multimodal, connected community where the vehicle is not the only choice, where everyone can walk, bike and use transit to get to many destinations. The Connecting the Blocks Program advances several of the Smart Growth Principles, not only in theory but in practice. This is evidenced by the dynamic painted intersections along Las Olas Boulevard, a thriving corridor with growing pedestrian activity. Improvements like these contribute to creating walkable and attractive neighborhoods with a strong sense of place.
Broward County Complete Streets and Climate Change Action Plant
Broward County has built a strong record for demonstrating commitment to providing a multimodal transportation system as well as a commitment to identifying and implementing green and sustainable practices. One of the key areas where these commitments converge is in the transportation infrastructure realm.
Broward County Planning and Redevelopment and the Environmental Planning and Community Resilience Divisions have worked closely with partners to address and integrate transportation and climate resiliency needs. In 2010, Broward County adopted the Broward County Climate Change Action Plan which includes a number of transportation-related recommendations focused on mitigating the causes and adapting to climate change. In early 2013, the Broward County Comprehensive Plan was amended to include a Climate Change Element, which includes a number of specific policies related to the transportation network, including expanding infrastructure for charging electric and hybrid vehicles. A third milestone for the County was the adoption of Complete Streets objectives and policies into the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan in 2014 and the formation of a Complete Streets Team. The Complete Streets Team has focused on reviewing and updating codes and standards to support Complete Streets, identify locations and coordinate with partners on pilot projects using new technologies, working with Broward County municipalities, the Broward MPO and Florida Department of Transportation to identify priority corridors for improvements, and working to improve safety for bicyclist and pedestrians.
The Lauderdale Lakes Community Redevelopment Agency received Effective Collaborative Community Planning
The City of Lauderdale Lakes was incorporated over 50 years ago as Fort Lauderdale’s population growth stimulated western expansion stimulating the growth of suburbs and the incorporation of new cities to the west.
The City of Lauderdale Lakes is a low income, minority majority community of extraordinary diversity. The CRA district is 551 acres in size principally covering main commercial arterials running through the city/region. Affordable housing of all types is available to many households, as is an expansive network of public transit services. As well, most residents live within walking distance of public transit.
For the first several years of the CRA’s existence it has proven necessary to update the plan simply because the projects and programs defined through planning are completed efficiently and effectively. The CRA believes that this process will continue through 2031 when the CRA is retired and the Tax Increment revenue that has been earned will forever be paid to the City to support on-going General Fund expenses and the delivery of local governmental services. By 2031, it is anticipated that the CRA will have invested up to $30m within the district and that those funds have the real potential to leverage up to $120m in private investment within the CRA target area.
The Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency In-Fill Housing Project
The Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (HBCRA) is focused on eliminating slum and blighted conditions. In addition, the HBCRA is focused on stimulating and creating physical, economic and social improvements in the area. A vision of the agency is to apply these improvements in the northwest area of the City as it is considered the first priority for redevelopment to create greater real progress in the community. As a result, the HBCRA created the In-Fill Housing Project, which entailed the construction of eight single-family homes, on HBCRA owned land, to be sold as affordable housing opportunities to income eligible buyers. All housing units received the national Green Building Standard Bronze Certification. Green homes or energy efficient construction provide a financial benefit overtime to property owners.
The In-Fill Housing Project generated significant benefits to the community and the local government. It creates a diverse workforce and promotes social and economic integration. These affordable housing units replaced vacant land, which benefit the local government from increased property tax revenues. Furthermore, buyers of these units were able to participate in the First Time Home Buyers Program offered by the HBCRA.
Broward County Climate Change Element
The purpose of the Climate Change Element (CCE) is to provide a planning framework for addressing the economic, environmental, and social impacts of climate change. A county-wide strategy, based on local vulnerability and consistent with regional efforts, the CCE aims to mitigate the causes, and address the local implications, of global climate change.
Broward County recognizes the widespread international scientific consensus that climate change is occurring, and that greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, may be a contributing cause. Furthermore, they understand that our region, Southeast Florida, is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise and other climate change impacts. Because of these global and local realities, Broward County has made reducing carbon emissions and protecting and preparing residents, businesses, and natural resources from the unavoidable consequences of climate change, a priority.
Sea level rise is just one of many possible impacts our community is facing because of changing climate conditions. Additionally, the frequency and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes is predicted to increase. Similarly, while projections for average precipitation vary greatly, changes in the intensity and timing of rainfall is likely lead to increased incidents of both flooding and drought.
The City of Dania Beach Dania Beach Nanofiltration Plant
This project was the combined efforts of the City of Dania Beach, Florida Atlantic University faculty and student researchers within the College of Engineering and Computer Science, engineers , architects and construction personnel from CDM Smith. Two FAU civil, environmental and geomatics senior student groups submitted conceptual designs as their capstone project and spent significant time analyzing the process, site and design issues. These students designs were used by CDM Smith and the City of Dania Beach to fully develop the plant concepts, including the idea for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The project is the first water treatment plant in the world to receive a LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED is a process to highlight aspects of building projects that encompass the concepts of green building.
Plant innovations, including increased water recovery and the potential to use the facility for educational purposes, helped to make this facility the first LEED-certified process building at any water or wastewater plant in the United States. The LEED certification process was administered by FAU. Students helped with some of the templates submitted for the LEED process.
SFRTA Tri-Rail Coastal Link Station Area Opportunities Analysis
The project focuses on an 85 mile rail corridor in Southeast Florida between West Palm Beach and Miami, between US1 and I-95, less than a mile from the Intra-Coastal Waterway. At six million people today, the region is anticipated to grow to nine million people by 2060. The 20-25 stations proposed will connect 26 communities. The project was funded and coordinated by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, in close collaboration with the municipalities studied.
The rail corridor will revolutionize access and mobility in an area with few regional transit options and a growing population. This study shows the positive impacts of the proposed transit service on the station areas and the region. Additionally, the historic grid system surrounding the proposed station areas provide a walking and bicycling network for transit access to regional employment and residential centers along the densely populated rail corridor.
City of Deerfield Beach Complete Streets Guidelines and Comprehensive Plan Amendments
The City of Deerfield Beach depends on manuals for design guidance on new streets, as well as for retrofitting and modifying existing streets with new development. Along with land use planning, street manuals play a large role in determining urban form. Street manuals, in effect, serve as the “DNA” of streets. As such, they help to determine how walkable and bicycle-friendly neighborhoods and communities are, how conducive cities are to transit use, and how livable communities become.
The Deerfield Beach Complete Streets Guidelines manual is based on complete streets principles that aim to design streets for people of all ages and physical abilities, and to accommodate all travel modes. The Guidelines offer another way to design streets rather than by traditional street manuals. The result will be a City with more livable neighborhoods and with healthier residents, who have increased opportunities for active transportation (walking, bicycling, and accessing public transportation). The Complete Streets Guidelines exemplify many Smart Growth principles.
City of Fort Lauderdale Sistrunk Streetscape Enhancement Project
The Sistrunk Streetscape Enhancement Project is the key element in the Northwest Progresso Flagler Heights Community Redevelopment Project. The CRA saw this as the beginning of a complete and sustained revitalization of the area both physically and economically, with positive long term effects on social fabric of this community and providing a supportive environment for living, shopping and working in the area.
The CRA prefers to take a holistic approach by first establishing a vision for the future and then utilizing sustainable planning principles. These may include neighborhood revitalization and economic development strategies combined with public improvements to attract private investment.
The redevelopment area is also attracting a variety of developers and entrepreneurs as development decisions are more predictable, quicker and cost effective through zoning amendments and financial incentives. City and CRA staff members work collaboratively to facilitate new quality development projects, encourage creative project designs and promote density to support a mix of uses, walkability and public transit.
City of Dania Beach City Center and Solar Lighting Project
The Dania Beach City Center Project includes a Broward County Library, which received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold rating for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings from the U.S. Green Building Council. The library is connected, via an outdoor public plaza, to a "green" municipal garage. The garage was made with recycled construction materials and also catches rainwater for on-site landscaping. It holds four electric vehicle charging stations, parking for hybrid vehicles and bicycle racks.
The Dania Beach City Solar Lighting Project was undertaken after the city conducted their Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) study that indicated a need for additional street lighting in many of the city's neighborhoods to help deter crime. The city selected energy-efficient light fixtures with an integrated, top-of-pole mounted solar power module that capture the sun's energy. These fixtures, which use LED bulbs, are virtually maintenance-free and have nearly limitless life expectancy.
Photo credit: Dania Beach Press
Fort Lauderdale Northwest Gardens Project
The Northwest Gardens project is the recipient of the 2012 Smart Growth Excellence Award. Northwest Gardens is a community within Fort Lauderdale that for many decades had been plagued by high crime, unemployment, poverty and a lack of adequate infrastructure. Through a joint project undertaken by the Carlisle Development Group and the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale the area was revitalized through the adoption of Smart Growth Principles that resulted in economic, social and community improvements.
Northwest Gardens is now one of South Florida's most outstanding models of sustainable neighborhood development. The project reflects the key principles of Smart Growth which encourages compact development in existing urbanized areas, promotes services and proximity close to residential areas, provides alternative transportation options and ensures access to recreation areas and community resources.
The Smart Growth Excellence Award was presented to Executive Director and CEO, Tam English, and Director of Development & Facilities, Scott Strawbridge, of the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale during the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors® and Smart Growth Partnership South Florida 20/20 event held on September 21, 2012 at Nova Southeastern University.
Tam English, Executive Director and CEO, and Scott Strawbridge, Director of Development & Facilities, of the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale with their 2012 Smart Growth Excellence award.
City of Dania Beach Presented Smart Growth Partnership Award
Gloria Katz, Founder, Smart Growth Partnership , stated that the “City of Dania Beach is a wonderful example of what can be done if elected officials and its staff work together to make this happen”. Providing a range of housing, transportation, and energy awareness, while creating open spaces, a smart growth city encompasses the development of local communities enabling their residents to maximize full potential.
While presenting the award, Marianne Winfield, Executive Director, Smart Growth Partnership lauded Jeremy Earle as a visionary. “The ability of people who understand the goals and their vision to initiate changes” makes them pioneers in the Smart Growth movement. The City of Dania Beach is fortunate to have leaders who fulfill this vision.
Jeremy Earle, CRA Director, Dania Beach, C.K. "Mac" McElyea, Mayor Dania Beach, Marianne Winfield, Executive Director, Smart Growth Partnership, Bobbie H. Grace, City Commissioner, Dania Beach, Walter Duke, City Commissioner, Ann Castro, Vice Mayor, Dania Beach, Robert Anton, City Commissioner.
Fort Lauderdale South Andrews Avenue Master Plan
The South Andrews Avenue Master Plan was developed with Smart Growth Principles in mind. The first principle is to “provide a range of housing opportunities and choices.” One aspect of the master plan is to provide a variety of medium density housing types, ranging from live/work studios, loft style apartments, to luxurious townhomes. The master plan proposes approximately 1500 dwelling units in 1.65 million square feet of residential construction. This plan will be able to increase efficiency through the redevelopment of the existing South Andrews Avenue corridor. Higher density development along the avenue will benefit from previously existing utility sources. New elements such as flare-outs will be integrated into street corners to provide additional safety as well as landscape buffers throughout the area. Landscape and pedestrian amenities will be significantly improved; this will generally make the street environment more inviting to pedestrians. The redevelopment will require higher density, multi-story buildings and low setbacks to encourage compact buildings. Parking should also be behind the buildings, structured and shared parking for mixed-use buildings is encouraged.
