Regional Shift: South East Florida
in Transition describes social, civic, and economic trends across seven counties
during the 1990’s. The report has been a critical resource
for planners, policy makers, and neighborhood civic activists.
An updated version of the report has just been released. This latest
version includes reflections of residents and stakeholders about
the changes they are experiencing and anticipating in their communities.
These community perspectives emerged in focus groups of neighborhood
residents held in four locations throughout the region:
Overtown, a neighborhood in the City of Miami,
Miami-Dade County;
Indiantown, an unincorporated area in Martin County;
the Town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County; and
the City of Lauderdale Lakes, representing residents and
stakeholders along the State Road 7 corridor in Broward County.
The tone, level of civic engagement
among participants, average longevity of residency, and optimism
varied richly across the groups. However, universal among them
was an intense interest in the future of their communities and
a willingness to actively participate.
The women and men who came to the
focus groups to represent themselves and their neighbors want to
have a say. They wish to exert a positive influence on the course
of local and regional development.
Beneath all the particularities and variations in the discussions
at each location, there was a clear and consistent refrain. County
to county, focus group participants called for improvements in
the quality of life for all residents of the region—be they
privileged or vulnerable, visible or silenced. We can regard their
perspectives as both call to action and as confirmation that a
thoughtful sense of urgency about the future of our communities
is part of our collective regional character.
OVERTOWN 23 June 2005
The discussion during the Overtown focus group reflected a harsh
reality of the neighborhood’s history: that civic processes
and institutions have not engaged the population of average residents.
As such, residents are just coming to awareness of gentrification’s
implications for their households and community. They are interested
in accelerating a nascent understanding of policy issues that impact
their neighborhood’s destiny, and ultimately, their residency
in it. However, they recognize that they lack a reliable source
and accessible structure to build their knowledge to participate
meaningfully in policy discourse about housing, economic development,
transportation, education, and other topics. As we might expect
in the early-stage development of a grassroots activism, there
is contention about the roles and responsibilities of Overtown’s
residents in neighborhood change.
POPULATION/RESIDENCY
The absence of residents from neighborhood planning discussions
spawns concern about conspiracy and planned displacement of lower-income
and current residents. New home buyers and businesspersons differ
ethnically and socioeconomically from current residents, and there
is concern that the benefits of new investment in the community
will not accrue to current residents.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATION
Because there are few opportunities in Overtown, the participants
note, there is a necessary out-migration of talented, motivated
people. Despite the prevalent commitment to nostalgia for the neighborhood’s
heyday, the participants were certain Overtown will never again
be like it was.
MOBILITY
Participants were generally very pleased with the variety and accessibility
of transportation in Overtown.
ENVIRONMENT/HEALTH
There was great concern expressed about the prevalence of illegal
drugs, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, violent crime, and
the lack of knowledge about services.
RESIDENT INVOLVEMENT/VOICE
Resident discouragement and apathy are pressing problems that hinder
civic engagement. “We struggle against a sense of defeat,” a
participant said. “Leg work,” “outreach,” and
the capacity to envision the self as a civic actor (to “see
[one]self in the discussion”) were presented as antidotes
to lack of involvement among residents.
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT/PRIVATE INTERESTS
Corruption of elected officials and profit-motivation threaten
the interests of current residents. Participants understand the
need for a united resident voice and a solutions-oriented approach
to counter the forces that exclude them. It was suggested that
they organize a “prospect committee” to set economic
and housing development goals congenial to current residents.
INDIANTOWN 08 August 2006
The participants in the Indiantown session were mostly long-term
area residents who are intensely engaged with civic institutions
and questions in their community. Indeed, most members of the Neighborhood
Advisory Committee (NAC) Board were in attendance. Given the long
history of their residency and their attentiveness to civic life,
the participants offered very sophisticated analysis about the
policy issues facing Indiantown. They were careful to represent
the concerns of agricultural laborers and other economically vulnerable
and silenced groups. The participants themselves comprised a diverse
group, many of whom have worked together in the community for a
long time.
The administration of Martin County is very responsive to the NAC,
and there is a lively town hall meeting infrastructure that supports
active civic engagement. The focus group participants are quite
optimistic about Indiantown’s future and feel they have a
stake and a say in the destiny of their community. They feel that
an important component of their authority is that they are knowledgeable
and well-informed and that they are a solutions-oriented group.
The NAC “makes recommendations as opposed to only complaining
or raising concerns,” a participant said.
The cornerstone of civic life in Indiantown is civility—which
they described as an abiding decency and respect among residents
for one another and for their living environment. The participants’ goal
is to maintain Indiantown’s civility as the community transforms.
HOUSING AND POPULATION
There was great concern that Census 2000 figures reflect under-counting
of Indiantown’s population by as much as 50 percent. In particular,
the Guatemalan community, present since the early 1980’s,
is sorely under-represented by the Census. As a result, the truth
of income disparity in the area is lost, making it difficult to
garner appropriate federal attention to the needs of Indiantown.
Under-counting also skews Indiantown’s home ownership rates.
Renters and the doubling- and tripling-up of households are more
likely to be obscured when population data is gathered.
Out-migration of African American and Anglo families has been largely
driven by the relocation of major employers, e.g., Florida Steel
in 1980 and Pratt-Whitney in 1999. Many Central Americans, Caribbean
Islanders, and Mexican people have moved into the community, attracted
by the accessibility of lower-wage service jobs.
The participants universally regard the ethnic and racial diversity
of the area positively. They also regard the strong work ethic
of the newcomers as a strong characteristic on which the community
can build.
Participants emphasized the need to develop SROs and “dorm
style” housing with the appropriate bathing facilities for
single men. Sharp increases in the cost of land pose a challenge.
As land values increase, there is also a growing need for workforce
housing affordable to civil and mid-level service personnel, such
as teachers, police officers, and sanitation workers. Demand for
stable, affordable, decent rental housing is rising.
JOBS AND EDUCATION
Job growth is tending to occur at the low-wage end of the spectrum.
For instance, many undocumented workers perform landscaping, construction,
and golf-course services through day labor companies, often receiving
only $50 for a full day’s work.
Participants are also witness to Indiantown’s transformation
into a bedroom community for those working in Stuart and West Palm
Beach.
Support for young people in Indiantown is an area of need. The
lack of living-wage jobs forces many young adults to leave. For
the participants, this resonated with a more general dearth of
youth services in the community—both recreational and educational.
However, schools are a source of satisfaction among the participants.
Offerings at all educational levels have expanded and improved
in the area. Smaller class sizes, a new gifted program and accelerated
courses, and teacher enthusiasm are reasons participants cited
for their optimism. They said that though educational attainment
in Indiantown is lower than in the rest of Martin County, figures
are improving.
ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Many of the participants’ environmental concerns center on
Lake Okeechobee. They feel it needs to be protected, but also made
accessible to tourists and area residents as an attractive natural
resource for enjoyment.
Participants are also concerned about preserving the citrus groves
and their role in the local economy. These concerns have grown
as citrus canker and hurricanes have hit the industry hard.
JUPITER 23 August 2005
The Jupiter focus group took place on the MacArthur Campus of Florida
Atlantic University in the Abacoa community of Jupiter. Discussion
centered primarily on the needs of families and households raising
children. Transportation, education, and community are seen in
relation to the two-working-parent household unit. For the participants,
housing seems to be the central driver of many of the area’s
trends. For instance, marketing and pricing of new housing product
threaten cultural and economic diversity. As we might expect in
a group comprised of relatively new residents whose community is
primarily the university, and for whom the young nuclear family
is the focal social unit, there is little civic engagement. Social
policy issues such as transportation and housing are seen through
the lens of middle-income, child-rearing householders.
However, participants expressed concern that race/ethnic relations
will degenerate given the segregation driven by socioeconomic forces
and recent racially charged events in neighboring communities,
e.g., the shooting by police of a Delray African American youth.
They envision that improvements in area quality of life will come
at the cost of vulnerable groups, such as displacement of the mostly
Mayan agricultural and manual laborers. Economic growth and business
investment, such as that by Scripps, is unlikely to generate jobs
for current residents, and will probably lead to an influx of new
higher-skilled residents into the community.
MOBILITY
Traffic congestion has increased sharply in the past several years,
and participants attribute much of it to the need for parents to
transport children to and from school and to various organized
activities throughout the day. The presence of construction vehicles
on the roads accompanies the intense development in the area and
contributes significantly to traffic congestion.
DEMOCRACY/STATE OF COMMUNITY
The population of Jupiter is increasingly comprised of higher-income
families. Higher housing prices are forcing the progeny of longer-term
residents out of the area, hindering the capacity to build family
legacies within the community. Neighbors see and interact with
one another very infrequently, leading to social anonymity and
disconnectedness. In addition, the rapid development is changing
the physical character of the area so quickly that there is not
a sense of place to anchor a notion of community. Participants
expressed general disappointment with civic leaders’ handling
of the challenges facing Jupiter, such as the lack of attention
to public transportation and planning for adequate public green
space.
An antidote proposed to the lack of community was developing cooperative
programs centered on children. For instance, retirees might be
organized to assist with transport of children. Parents might cooperate
to alternate transporting groups of children to and from activities
in carpools.
EDUCATION
There was a great deal of very detailed discussion about primary
and secondary education in the Jupiter focus group. The participants
noted that the implications of high-stakes testing (i.e., the FCAT)
are present in the daily educational experiences of their children. “We
can see right before us that we’re creating a nation of test-takers,” a
participant said, which hinders creativity and curiosity, and rewards
blind compliance.
The participants felt that strengthening town-gown relations would
enrich civic life.
STATE ROAD 7 CORRIDOR: LAUDERDALE LAKES 12 October 2005
Participants in the State Road 7 Corridor: Lauderdale Lakes focus
group gathered at the city’s municipal complex. They expressed
great concern about the impact of housing market trends on normal
residential dynamics and the civic life of the community. For instance,
rising housing prices and property taxes trap many folks, particularly
older people and empty-nesters, in too-large accommodations, despite
their motivation to down-size. They regard such a phenomenon as
a sign that the area economy is out of kilter.
In particular, younger people cannot afford housing in the area.
Participants called for the development of more affordable rental
housing. They are competing with the greater buying power of the
Euro and with wealthy buyers from Latin America and the northeast
U.S.
They note some resignation of elected officials and policy makers
in the face of these challenges. A participant quoted an unnamed
commissioner who said, “There is no such thing as affordable
housing.” They cited a lack of coordination and planning
as problematic. For instance, major transportation projects often
conflict with or fail to consider economic development agendas
and the needs of businesses.
Participants were disturbed by the jeopardy that code enforcement
poses for lower-income home owners. Inspectors are tagging cars
and issuing citations. Mounting liens are too burdensome for many
current home owners, who are displaced. There was concern that
this process colludes with other development forces that threaten
to displace lower-income occupants. A “paradigm shift” is
required to mobilize government subsidies and motivate financial
incentives for developers to create affordable housing opportunities.
After devastating hurricanes, participants have
seen businesses relocating to the state’s northern counties,
taking with them area jobs. The Seminole Hard Rock Casino has been
a source of jobs, but has also strained infrastructure and created
noise and congestion problems. Participants noted a preponderance
of mom-and-pop businesses that occupy much of the area’s
commercial space but do not provide many employment opportunities.
Many car dealerships and mall retailers moved west to the Sawgrass
Mills area, depriving the eastern sections of economic activity.
Participants suggested that dead malls be revitalized as mixed-use
sites.
[Fifth focus group to be announced: Port St. Lucie/Homestead]
