Why Mike Thomas Doesn't Understand Today's Economy

As one of the few remaining subscribers to the Orlando Sentinel, I am always amused at some of the commentary issued by Mike Thomas on the area's development patterns (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-mike-thomas-new-urbanism-102909,0,5070693,full.column). And, as a resident of Avalon Park, I seem to be squarely in the cross hairs of Mr. Thomas' ire toward development in the "hinterlands" of Orange County (funny how the "hinterlands" is fifteen minutes from the nation's third largest university, fifteen minutes from the nation's seventh-largest research park, fifteen minutes from the nation's tenth largest airport - at least when Alafaya Trail finally punches through next year - and twenty minutes from downtown Orlando; where I grew up (Fairfax, VA) that's inside the Beltway!). Apparently, Mr. Thomas believes that we are destroying the fabric of central Florida by willy-nilly locating development at the fringes, and he points to Avalon Park as the poster child of growth gone wild.



I'll be the first one to say that we've historically done a very poor job of managing growth in the region. However, Mr. Thomas has himself chosen a very poor example of invoking this mis-management in Avalon Park. What Mr. Thomas fails to understand, and which leads me to conclude that he does not understand what is happening in today's unfolding creative economy, is that proper economic development requires the constant creation of attractive places with available (and appropriate) housing that are globally connected, supported by a strong educational and healthcare system, with access to recreational facilities and respecting the natural environment in which they are located. Finally, they must be of a collaborative scale, with the ability to house multiple forms of transit linked to nearby job centers (Mr. Thomas somehow believes that your job must be located with sight of your front door - not likely).



Given those requirements, I will put Avalon Park up against any community in Florida. Does it have problems? Sure - much of the transportation network has yet to be built (see: Alafaya Trail) but the point is that the community has been designed in such a way that it can facilitate that network when it appears. But, on the whole, the conditions exist that make Avalon Park a great place to live, to work, to play, and to study. Maybe Mr. Thomas is threatened by the existence of such a place, as every community (whether here in central Florida or in Walla Walla, Washington) must ask itself how it plans to attract the talented people necessary to compete in today's global economy.



And that is the point - sprawl can no longer be defined as development on some kind of mythical urban edge. Rather, sprawl is the placement of development in poor proximity to major economic centers (either existing, like the Central Florida Research Park, or under development, like Lake Nona). Once we understand this distinction, Mr. Thomas' arguments seem archaic, and that's one trait this community can't afford to be labeled with.