The Florida Department of Transportation is trying to institutionalize this approach in its Transportation Design for Livable Communities Project. The Department of Community Affairs is disseminating many of the necessary tools via its Sustainable Communities Demonstration Project. Governor Bush points to his Front Porch Florida initiative as embodying these concepts. Perhaps what is needed is a technical assistance swat team, an idea discussed at the New Urbanism in a Sustainable Florida meeting at Seaside in November. Communities that want to move forward more quickly could call on the expertise of land use and transportation planners and economic development officials to guide community planning charrettes and provide rapid expert feedback during the planning and implementation phase.
Lake Worth leads by example.
Lake Worth is one of a growing number of cities that has shown how beneficial a little outside assistance can be when trying to execute a plan. It appears that Art and upscale restaurants bring visitors to the downtown area in the evenings. I'm confident the leaders of this community are committed to a thriving, attractive downtown Lake Worth. I'm one of the Downtown Merchants. While we've come a long way, there's still ground to be covered.