| Florida Center for Community
Design and Research (and the University of South Florida)
(Note: The skids are well-greased ... and they call it 'education' and 'community planning.' Oh, they're Planning, all right, but has anyone asked if the Human Community still gets its 'habitat?' What a piece of language deception this is...)
Mission and Program Areas
The Florida Center for Community Design and Research is a Type II State University System (SUS) research center located in the School of Architecture and Community Design (SACD) at the University of South Florida (USF). The Center was founded in 1986 as a statewide research center to address urban and regional problems related to both the natural and built environment and to provide design expertise, technical assistance, and applied research to assist Florida's growing communities. The Center employs faculty and graduate students from 11 different academic disciplines and receives between $750,000 to $1 million in contracts and grants annually. As such, the Center serves as a primary vehicle for interdisciplinary community engagement at the University of South Florida. The Center has four full-time research faculty, eight affiliated faculty from USF, and numerous full-time support staff and graduate students. The mission of the Florida Center is to assist the citizens of Florida in the creation of more livable and sustainable communities. To accomplish the mission, the Center has four principal program areas.
Community Design
The Community Design program involves faculty and graduate students from the School of Architecture and Community Design (SACD) who assist Florida communities in solving various types of urban design and planning issues. As the population of Florida continues to grow, a critical need exists to help local governments, non-profit organizations, and development professionals explore new opportunities for accommodating growth while preserving the quality of life for all Floridians.
Active projects include
Planning Informatics and Decision Support
The Planning Informatics program uses advanced information technology such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), web-enabled database management systems, CAD, and 3-D visualization to assist local communities in projects that improve decision making about future growth, development, and the management of natural resources. Active research includes
Urban and Regional Policy Research
The Urban and Regional Policy Research program is highly interdisciplinary and focuses on improving the design, planning, and management of Florida's communities. As such, the Center works with affiliated faculty from many different academic departments at the University of South Florida as well as faculty from the other universities in the State University System (SUS). Active research includes
EducationThe Center is a designated ESRI GIS training facility and is actively involved in graduate education through the Community Design and Development Certificate Program and the GIS Certificate Program. Florida Center for Community Design and Research 3702 Spectrum Boulevard, Suite 180 Tampa, Florida 33612 813-974-4042 Fax: 813-974-6023 |