Unsustainable Miami
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Transcript of Unsustainable Miami
Unsustainable Miami
Intro
• Miami suffers from urban sprawl and unsustainable growth
• Current growth threatens three unique habitats– Pine rockland– Everglades– Coral reef
• Some ideas for future sustainable development
Current Environmental Issues
• Miami and the rest of South Florida continues to expand and push further into the Everglades
• Remaining Pine rockland forest inside city boarders are cut down for new development
• The coral reef off the coast is dredged to accommodate larger ships
The Everglades
• The Everglades boarders Miami on the West• A large portion of Everglades is protected by
The Everglades National Park and other parks including Big Cyprus National Preserve
• Remaining Everglades is unprotected and open to development
The Everglades
• Between Everglades National Park and Miami is a buffer zone
• Buffer created by Miami’s Urban Development Boundary which defines Miami’s outer city limits– Urban Development Boundary can be extended by
vote– Since 1973 Miami has expanded 36,000 acres
The Everglades
• Everglades is important habitat and valuable resource
• Everglades is home to many threaten and endangered animals including:– Florida Panther– American Crocodile– Wood Stork
• Everglades is source of fresh water for South Florida
The Everglades
UDB seen from space – image from Google Maps
Pine Rockland
• Pine rockland is a rare forest type existing only in South Florida and the Caribbean
• Only two percent of original forest remains• Forest outside of protect parks under threat
by developers• Recent development plan to cut down 140
acres of Pine rockland to build Wal-Mart and other stores
Pine Rockland
• Pine rockland is home to a number of threaten species found in no other habitat
• Threaten species include:– Bonneted Bat– Atala Hairstreak butterfly
• Atala Hairstreak butterfly will be on endangered species list by end of 2014
Pine Rockland
Atala Hairstreak Butterfly – taken at Porter-Russell Pineland
Coral Reef
• Off Miami’s East coast is coral reef• A portion of reef is currently being dredged to
accommodate larger ships into Port of Miami• Scientist have recently discovered very
resilient corals living in dredging zone which may hold clues to saving coral world wide from global warmining
Coral Reef
Dredging at Port of Miami – seen from Google Maps
Coral Reef
Dredging at Port of Miami – seen from Google Maps
Environmental Impact of Unsustainable Development
• Loss of rare coral that could be important to saving coral reefs that are dying around the world
• Loss of rare pine rockland habitat and the animals unique to the habitat
• Continued loss of Everglades habitat and the animals unique to the habitat
• Pollution from vehicles
Economic Impact of Unsustainable Development
• Traffic congestion reduces productivity• Ruin habitat that is valuable for tourism (scuba
diving in the coral reefs, visitors to Everglades)• Costs of health impacts from air pollution• Loss of jobs / business from companies that
don’t want to locate in a city with urban sprawl and inadequate infrastructure
Ideas for Sustainable Development
• Stop expanding Miami’s Urban Development Boundary
• Continue to develop existing spaces / build up instead of building out
• Fill in massive open air parking lots with parking garages and additional buildings
• Zone more areas for more multi-use development instead of single use
Ideas for Sustainable Development
Example of open air ground parking in Miami – seen from Google Maps
Ideas for Sustainable Development
• Improve current bus system making dedicate bus roads
• Expand current rail system• Integrate bus and rail system