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Historically, residential development has been a primary driver of Florida’s economy. Direct consequences of this growth have included steadily increasing impacts on Florida’s water resources. The overuse of our natural water supply reserves and deteriorating water quality are increasing the risks associated with Florida’s conventional land development practices. GIS, visualization technologies, geospatial analytics, remote sensing and other methodologies can be used to quantify and visualize resource impacts associated with land-use decisions and associated implications for community resiliency/sustainability and management of resources in mixed urban, rural and natural settings. This presentation uses short case studies to demonstrate methodologies for quantifying and comparing the water resource consumption, quality and cost impacts associated with distinct community designs. The presentation will include a discussion of how these methodologies can be used to increase citizen engagement and increase objectivity in public policy discussions. Case studies will include the Plum Creek planning process in east Alachua County and others. |