2058: Fearless Predictions

Commuter Rail

Implemented in 2010 along the Interstate 4 corridor, commuter rail has paid for itself with “overflow riders” and has expanded to Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami, with rail spines and an effective and efficient ground transportation network extending throughout the central Florida region.

— Jacob V. Stuart, President/CEO,
Central Florida Partnership

Development

Disney World will be liquidated to create a new EPCOT (Experimental Prototype City Of Today), which will become a “living” urban research center that will draw people from all over the world to develop technologies to improve the built environment into the 22nd century. With the money from the sale of its properties, Disney will buy up all of the developed land along the Florida coast and return it to its natural state to be called “Ocean World.” Disney will then use its new levitated monorail transportation system to draw tourists to experience and enjoy the true wonders of nature and the Florida environment.

— Mickey Jacob, regional director,
Florida Association of the
American Institute of Architects

Healthcare

A device worn or implanted will monitor health status and make personal visits to physicians rare. All healthcare providers have the instant medical history of their patients. Personal daily regimens of drugs and vitamins willvary based on monitored information. Gene therapy and pharmaceutical innovation will have eliminated most current illnesses, although new infectious diseases will appear, and chicken soup will remain the best “cure” for the common cold. ... Medicare will still exist as a federal health insurance program, but coverage will begin at the early retirement age ... of 82.

— Douglas Mannheimer, Tallahassee partner in the law firm Broad and Cassel whose practice centers on healthcare, state agencies and the Legislature

Automobile

The rate of traffic growth has slowed even as Florida’s population has grown. High fuel costs, tolls, increased transit usage, telecommuting and video conferencing have reduced the number of cars on the road. Enhanced automotive braking and radar systems enhance mobility by lessening the stopping and following distances between vehicles, creating more space on interstates and local roadways.Vehicles have transitioned to hydrogen through compressed natural gas (CNG). Florida got out in front to provide incentives for infrastructure for hydrogen, CNG and electric plug in vehicles.

— Carolyn Dekle, executive director, South Florida Regional Planning Council

Environment

The upcoming vote on the constitutional ballot initiative to rename our great state “New Holland” continues to gain momentum due to sea level rise and the need to seawall the entire coastline. ... Across the state, citizens are loudly protesting the price of drinking water as it passes $20 a gallon. Even though per capita water use is down to 50 gallons a day, experts say usage must be cut in half if Florida is to remain sustainable.

— Charles Pattison, executive director, 1000 Friends of Florida

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