University Colloquium Blog: Field Trip # 4

On June 25th, 2010 I did my field trip of Downtown Fort Myers. This was truly a freshing experience. I drove around the city in awe of the wonderful work that was done with the redvelopment project.
Downtown Fort Myers is known as the historical district and also the waterfront district. It is home to historical buildings such as the court house, city hall, many different museums and government buildings. It also has a very beautiful scenic waterfront view which truly validates the term urban waterfont living. There are over 400 residential high rise condominium units in the river district. Many cultural opportunities are available in Downown Fort Myers, some of which are the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, the Harborside Event Center and the Headquarters of the Art of the Olympians.
On my field trip I stopped by the offices of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and the Redevelopment Center in Downtown Fort Myers to get some literature on the area. I walked around the city and took pictures of some very interesting sites and buildings.
The developers did a wonderful job at trying to preserve our ecological system with the beautiful array of plants that lines the street of Downtown Fort Myers. Because the downtown area is extremely flat they built a water detention basin between the river and Bay Street to improve the quality of surface water run-off into the Caloosahatchee River to prevent flooding. The landscape is beautifully arranged and the streets are decorated with bricks.
As I reflect on the suitability of urban development in Southwest Florida yesterday, today and tomorrow. I believe that as the area grows so does the need for urban development. Many development project comes to mind with this topic, such as the construction of the new international airport which was well needed to accomodate travel for the increased population. Another is the I75 expansion project which helped to alleviate traffic jams and delays. However, the project I found most impressive was the redevelopment of Downtown Fort Myers. In the past this urban environment appeared forgtten and neglected. Today, it has a very elegant look and the community appear to be vibrant and full of life.
I was very impressed on this filed trip to see how conciencious the developers were when constructing this urban environment by portraying the city as a historic district and a riverfront district while preserving our ecological system. These urban developments will improve Southwest Florida's communities, which will bring visitors to the area and will be beneficial for the future of the Downtown Fort Myers environment. Below are pictures I took of Downtown Fort Myers.