The Florida Department of Transportation and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority also provided additional resources that enhanced the project. We express our appreciation to all who have participated and invested in completing this important phase of the project.

In a region that is over 200 miles long with seven counties and over 100 municipalities it is imperative that a long range vision be based on a reaffirmation of the importance of local control and the need to respect private property rights. Nothing in these resource documents attempt to do otherwise. We do recognize that there are national and international trends such as demographics, international trade, wireless communication, education and workforce that will impact our local communities. Our goal is to provide tools to address those trends and encourage regional collaboration on key overarching issues such as transportation, climate and environment.

Today completes a key phase in our Regional Prosperity Plan. We are providing a Regional Prosperity Plan consisting of a Executive Summary, an extensive on-line report, and established a web page and data bank that will support local and regional efforts. In the immediate future we will also end our grant obligations with US HUD. The two Regional Planning Councils will undertake actions to maintain and update regional data, continue the regional communication network and establish annual assessments and biannual summits. We will support existing regional coalitions and help new ones to form. We will maintain the Southeast Florida Regional Partnership by allowing existing organizations to choose to remain as members, while others may choose to cease participating and new groups may choose to “opt into” the ongoing implementation phase.

Together we can make Southeast Florida a better region ensuring a better life for all our current and future residents and visitors.