November 9, 2009

Miami’s groundbreaking blueprint for 21st century sustainable smart growth and development was approved at Miami’s historic city hall on October 22 by the Miami Commission. Known as “Miami 21 for Miami of the 21st Century,” the city’s commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of adopting the code and plan.

Launched in April 2005, the comprehensive planning and zoning rewrite saw unprecedented public input and participation with more than 500 public meetings, workshops, charrettes and discussions. The plan was developed to provide predictability and a clear vision for the city’s future growth supported by specific guidelines and regulations to ensure a rich quality of life for residents of the city and enable the development of well-balanced neighborhoods. The brainchild of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, the new Miami 21 code replaces the city’s old use-based zoning and uniquely integrates six critical elements, each of which have a direct impact on resident quality of life: form-based code guided by tenets of New Urbanism and smart growth principles, land use and economic development, historic preservation, parks and public spaces, cultural institutions and the arts, and transportation and mobility. Density and conservation requirements are codified in Miami’s building permit and application processes.

These integrated elements, in combination with Miami’s adopted sustainability, green building requirements and climate protection plan, ‘MiPlan’ make Miami 21 a model for resident livability and quality of life that embeds sustainable smart growth in the city’s future development. The code element of Miami 21 is intended to balance both conservation and development while responding to the city’s existing conditions, the regional context, and the city’s natural features, infrastructure and buildings. Using a holistic approach to land use and urban planning, and by integrating parks and greenspace, arts and culture, Miami 21 seeks to provide for social and economic needs and growth while protecting the environment, minimizing the city’s carbon footprint and ensuring the health and welfare of city residents.