Florida

As termed-out Mayor Manny Diaz leaves office in Miami, The Miami Herald's Andres Viglucci takes a look back at the impact Diaz had on the city's growth.

Liquor stores and religious uses are the only building markets staying afloat in Florida, say experts.

Citing prohibitive costs and the use of light rail or bus rapid transit, the expansion of Miami's Metrorail has not been included in Miami-Dade County's 10-year transportation plan. Yet, County officials suggest expansion is still a priority.

Commissioners in Miami have voted to replace the city's use-based zoning code with a form-based code, dubbed Miami 21, which had been in the works for years.

The Disney Corporation has announced intentions to donate land for a high speed rail station in Orlando if a Florida project is approved. But some say it's unlikely the company will encourage anyone to use their station.

This audio report form WLRN in Florida looks at the frustrated bicycling community that mobilized to create the city's bicycling master plan, up for approval this week.

The First Baptist Church of Mandarin applied to build a 249,000 sq. ft. complex in a rural area. They're suing the city in federal court, on the grounds that they're getting "unequal and discriminatory treatment."

Florida is shrinking, demographically speaking. The state has seen its first year of population loss after a century of continuous growth that made Florida the 4th most populous state at 16 million in 2000. Even the retiree population is declining.

Short sea shipping involves moving freight on the sea around the coast without crossing an ocean. The City of Miami is looking at extending the process to relieve traffic pressure, getting some big rigs off the freeway.

The construction of a new airport and industrial district on Florida's panhandle characterizes the impact of the St. Joe Company, the state's biggest landowner and one in the midst of drastically changing the area's landscape.

With foreclosures racking up, the state of Florida is entering a dark period. Despite the dire prognosis, the stat'es historic ups and downs hint that Florida may be able to come back.

The population of Florida has decreased by about 50,000 people between April 2008 and April 2009, according to demographers at the University of Florida.

In a surprising turn of opinion, Miami commissioners voted against the city's long-planned form-based code, Miami 21.

The Miami Herald looks at the redevelopment of Biscayne Boulevard, which was unofficially accomplished using the still proposed Miami 21 zoning regulations, and wonders if all of the city's corridors could redevelop in such a manner.

With a 32-story tower occupied only part-time by a single family, America's real estate bust may be most apparent in Fort Meyers.

The drama over water between Florida, Alabama and Georgia is heating up, as a U.S. District Court ruled recently that Georgia's withdrawals from Lake Lanier are illegal. It's going to have to find a new source of water -- and inter-state cooperation.

Several communities in South Florida are suing the state government over the recent passage of a law that allows exurban development to occur even if there is no adequate transportation infrastructure in place.

The Florida Keys are likely the most vulnerable places to sea-level rise in America. Despite this danger, officials there have set no plans for counteracting or dealing with climate change.

Amendment 4 would require city and county comprehensive plans to go in front of the voters to be approved. It has been approved for a 2010 ballot.