Building on the success of its inaugural year, the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER) at the University of Florida is proud to announce the launch of Urban Futures: Urban Development at the Edge, a 2026 call for participation for Florida cities and towns facing challenges related to resilience, redevelopment, and sustainable growth.
The program, made possible through the continued support of the Duke Energy Foundation and led by Assistant Professor Carla Brisotto, PhD, expands on the lessons learned from FIBER’s first-year initiative, “Interdisciplinary Urban Design for a Resilient Future.” That program brought together four Florida communities, St. Pete Beach, Micanopy, Perry, and Crystal River, with University of Florida faculty, researchers, and practitioners, generating a network of cross-sector collaborations and actionable strategies for community resilience. Outcomes included the support to a Finding of Necessity (FON) process in St. Pete Beach, green infrastructure discussion in Perry, and a design studio in Crystal River.
The 2026 edition of Urban Futures deepens this commitment by focusing specifically on communities with Opportunity Zones (OZ) or more generally areas in need of redevelopment, exploring how design-driven research can support resilient revitalization and long-term community resilience. Interdisciplinary UF faculty teams will work directly with participating city leaders to identify local needs, frame redevelopment priorities, and develop targeted research proposals grounded in environmental, cultural, and socio-cultural realities.
Florida cities and towns served by Duke Energy, with fewer than 30,000 residents, in need of urban redevelopment and revitalization and face environmental or infrastructure challenges are encouraged to apply. Participating municipalities will attend a two-day in-person workshop at UF on May 7–8, 2026, and join eight monthly virtual meetings from April through November to collaborate on proposals.
Apply: https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6JSA99mGq8wFqVE
Notifications will be sent by March 31, 2026.
For questions, contact Assistant Professor Carla Brisotto at c.brisotto@ufl.edu.