Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/06/2008

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only on a countywide basis, historic growth patterns are analyzed to assign a portion of the countywide growth to Orlando. Orange County typically grows at a faster rate than Orlando, meaning that the city's proportion of the population is gradually decreasing even as the overall population increases in both the city and Orange County. Outside Orlando's boundaries, adja- cent land in unincorporated Orange County has also largely become developed, mean- ing that future opportunities to annex are limited, and demand will have to be accom- modated in other ways. By monitoring absorption of land annually, the city can anticipate the need for new policy solutions, such as providing incentives for redevelop- ment of grayfields and brownfields. CONCLUSIONS Land market monitoring has become increasingly available as technology has caught up to data needs and accurate information has become easier to gather and analyze. The technology changes have arrived just as changing market condi- tions, including a rise in home prices and an increasing desire by the public to pre- serve land, have shown that an accurate monitoring system is the most convincing response to calls for changes to the pre- vailing development pattern. I ZONING REVIEWS ENGAGING THE FUTURE: FORECASTS, ~CENARIOS, PLANS, AND PROJECTS Edited by Lewis D. Hopkins and Marisa A. Zapata (2007; Lincoln Institute of Land Policy; 392 pp.; $35) Only portions of this book are specifically about zoning, but successful zoning itself clearly depends on accurate projections of future land-use needs. This substantial anthology takes planners into the realm of anticipating change by envisioning alterna- tive futures and the tools for shaping them, with contributions from some of the most knowledgeable experts practicing today, The volume emerged from a 2005 symposium sponsored by the Lincoln Institute. METROGREEN: CONNECTING OPEN SPACE IN NORTH AMERICAN CITIES By Donna Erickson (2006; Island Press; 352 pp.; $35) Creating green communities requires a great deal of thinking about exactly what green is and what purposes it serves. One ofthe essential lessons of recent decades is that open space is far less valuable when isolated' than when it is connected to an entire system of greenbelts, greenways, trails, and other spaces that contribute to the ecological health of whole metropolitan areas. The 10 paired case studies in this lucid volume help the reader grasp the various functions of pub- lic and green open space in supporting the health of communities. Needless to say, they all require some serious local and regional land-use planning to achieve their goals. VOL 25, NO.1 Zoning Practice is a monthly publication of the American Planning Association. Subscriptions are available lor.$75 (U.S.) and $100 (foreign). W. Paul Farmer, fAICP, Executive Director; William R. Klein, AiC?, Director of Research. Zoning Practice (ISSN 1548-0135) is produced at APA. Jim Schwab, AICP, and David Morley, Editors; Julie Von Bergen, Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton, Design end Production. Copyright @:2008 by American Planning Associa,tion, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Chicago, !L 60603. The American Planning Association also has offices at 1776 fV1assachusetts Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20036; www.p!anning.org. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by.. any means, electronic or mechanical, including: photocopying, recording, or by any information storage end retrieval system, without permis. sion in writing from the American Planning Association. Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% recycled fiber and 10% postconsurner waste. ZONING PRACTICE 1.08 AMERICAN PlANNING ASSOCIAllON ~P'1ey