{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/67755"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/67755","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Is Florida's Growth Management Act protecting agricultural lands?","abstract":"Florida has experienced more population growth over the past half century than any other state, which has led to some of the most extensive urban development on valuable agricultural lands. To address this and other impacts of sprawl, Florida passed the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1985, which among other things required local comprehensive planning and that it be consistent with a state plan of policies and objectives. While the GMA has been the subject of much scrutiny, little empirical research has been conducted specifically in regards to the loss of agricultural lands. Utilizing spatial analytic techniques and historic county comprehensive planning data, I examine the extent to which this growth management policy has been effective at protecting agricultural land. I conclude that the GMA has had a statistically significant and notable impact on the rate and location of urban development on agricultural land. Given wide county differences in effort and rates of conversion, however, it is clear that while the GMA is necessary, it is not sufficient in its current state for the viability of agriculture. A regional strategy with specific goals and objectives for agricultural protection should be defined and eXisting planning mechanisms should be coupled with additional farmland protection tools for the GMA to be more effective in the long-term.","abstract_html":"Florida has experienced more population growth over the past half century than any other state, which has led to some of the most extensive urban development on valuable agricultural lands. To address this and other impacts of sprawl, Florida passed the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1985, which among other things required local comprehensive planning and that it be consistent with a state plan of policies and objectives. While the GMA has been the subject of much scrutiny, little empirical research has been conducted specifically in regards to the loss of agricultural lands. Utilizing spatial analytic techniques and historic county comprehensive planning data, I examine the extent to which this growth management policy has been effective at protecting agricultural land. I conclude that the GMA has had a statistically significant and notable impact on the rate and location of urban development on agricultural land. Given wide county differences in effort and rates of conversion, however, it is clear that while the GMA is necessary, it is not sufficient in its current state for the viability of agriculture. A regional strategy with specific goals and objectives for agricultural protection should be defined and eXisting planning mechanisms should be coupled with additional farmland protection tools for the GMA to be more effective in the long-term.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lloyd, Stephen (Stephen Charles Rhys)"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Michael Flaxman."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011","date_published":"2011","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:07Z","subjects":["Urban Studies and Planning."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67755","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Michael Flaxman."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lloyd, Stephen (Stephen Charles Rhys)"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2011-12-19T18:47:10Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-12-19T18:47:10Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2011"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Urban Studies and Planning."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. 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To address this and other impacts of sprawl, Florida passed the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1985, which among other things required local comprehensive planning and that it be consistent with a state plan of policies and objectives. While the GMA has been the subject of much scrutiny, little empirical research has been conducted specifically in regards to the loss of agricultural lands. Utilizing spatial analytic techniques and historic county comprehensive planning data, I examine the extent to which this growth management policy has been effective at protecting agricultural land. I conclude that the GMA has had a statistically significant and notable impact on the rate and location of urban development on agricultural land. Given wide county differences in effort and rates of conversion, however, it is clear that while the GMA is necessary, it is not sufficient in its current state for the viability of agriculture. A regional strategy with specific goals and objectives for agricultural protection should be defined and eXisting planning mechanisms should be coupled with additional farmland protection tools for the GMA to be more effective in the long-term."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.C.P."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Is Florida's Growth Management Act protecting agricultural lands?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Michael Flaxman."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning"],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning."],"dc:creator":["Lloyd, Stephen (Stephen Charles Rhys)"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2011-12-19T18:47:10Z"],"dc:date.available":["2011-12-19T18:47:10Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2011"],"dc:description":["Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011.","Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-63)."],"dc:description.abstract":["Florida has experienced more population growth over the past half century than any other state, which has led to some of the most extensive urban development on valuable agricultural lands. To address this and other impacts of sprawl, Florida passed the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1985, which among other things required local comprehensive planning and that it be consistent with a state plan of policies and objectives. While the GMA has been the subject of much scrutiny, little empirical research has been conducted specifically in regards to the loss of agricultural lands. Utilizing spatial analytic techniques and historic county comprehensive planning data, I examine the extent to which this growth management policy has been effective at protecting agricultural land. I conclude that the GMA has had a statistically significant and notable impact on the rate and location of urban development on agricultural land. Given wide county differences in effort and rates of conversion, however, it is clear that while the GMA is necessary, it is not sufficient in its current state for the viability of agriculture. A regional strategy with specific goals and objectives for agricultural protection should be defined and eXisting planning mechanisms should be coupled with additional farmland protection tools for the GMA to be more effective in the long-term."],"dc:description.degree":["M.C.P."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67755"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Urban Studies and Planning."],"dc:title":["Is Florida's Growth Management Act protecting agricultural lands?"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:07Z"}