In its Research projects, the Florida Center gathers and analyzes data about built
and natural environments to help planners and resource managers evaluate the quality
and extent of existing environmental, infrastructure and historical assets, and
to quantify trends in their status. This collected knowledge can then be used by
practitioners, both within the Florida Center and elsewhere, as a basis for creating
community designs and public policies that result in more sustainable resource allocation.
View our Research Projects »
As the population of Florida continues to grow, a critical need exists to help local
governments, non-profit organizations, development professionals, and concerned
citizens explore new opportunities for accommodating growth while preserving the
quality of life for all Floridians. Projects in the Design Program Area propose
creative, sustainable solutions to urban and regional problems. Areas of interest
include urban ecology, human behavior and the built environment, transit and eonomic
development, smart growth, landscape urbanism, housing and community design, and
urban policy and development.
View our Design Projects »
Projects in the Informatics Program Area use advanced information technology to
collect, organize and disseminate community resource data for use by researchers,
planners, resource managers and the general public, to encourage effective decision-making
about future growth, development, and management of natural resources and greater
citizen participation in resource stewardship. At the core of this program area
are the Center's Water Atlas, Community Atlas and Plant Atlas projects, which employ
spatial modeling and mapping tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS),
web-enabled database management systems, Computer-Aided Design, and 3-D visualization.
View our Informatics Projects »
The Florida Center is involved in graduate education through the School of Architecture
and Community Design and as guest lecturers for other USF Departments.
Faculty specializations include urban/community design, development and redevelopment guidelines, GIS technology, environmental
education, limnology, neighborhood planning, water resource conservation and data
management, ecosystem analysis, community indicators, infrastructure mapping, and
architectural design.
View our Education Projects »