Growth, Sprawl, and the Density Dilemma

"Growth, Sprawl, and the Density Dilemma"

 Speaker: Thomas Lanahan Executive Director, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council

Indian River County is under real pressure to expand its Urban Services Boundary — and with population growth not slowing down, the debate has shifted from whether we grow to how we grow. Thomas Lanahan, Executive Director of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC), is joining us on May 27 to talk through what that means.

Tom has spent decades working at the intersection of local planning and regional governance, and he's as close to the center of this debate as anyone in Florida. He'll give us a "high-altitude" look at where the Treasure Coast is headed — and what choices we still have. That includes:

• Sprawl vs. Preservation: How regional planning can keep us from becoming an endless suburb and protect the agricultural and conservation lands that define this place.

• The Density Question: Why compact, strategic growth in existing urban areas may be the most realistic way to take pressure off our natural resources.

• What Our Neighbors Can Teach Us: The long-term infrastructure costs other counties are living with — and what "Smart Growth" looks like when it actually works.

As TCRPC's executive director, Tom sits between local municipalities and state-level planning mandates. He understands both the pressures coming from Tallahassee and the very local question of how Indian River County stays distinct from the congestion creeping up from South Florida.

Come ready to look at maps, talk through models, and think seriously about what our neighborhoods will look like in a generation.