By Charles Boisseau
Long ago, Mark Twain supposedly said, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.” The witticism seems ever more apt today, particularly in Florida, where the state’s strong population growth and competition for land is drawing increased attention from academics, public officials and landowners.
Researchers at the University of Florida’s Center for Landscape Conservation Planning inventoried Florida’s land and forecast how its use may change over two separate time periods — by 2040 and by 2070. The research suggests that if population and development trends continue Florida could lose 400,000 acres of agricultural lands by 2040 and 2 million acres by 2070.