The role of global-to-local linkages in land use/land cover change in South Florida

This paper examines the land use/land cover change in South Florida from th e late 19th century to the late 20th century, Its theoretical approach is d erived from geographical literatures on globalization, spatial scale and ec ological transition. Two research questions frame the discussion. (1) Is th ere evidence of top-down or bottom-up global-to-local interactions in the r egion? and (2) Is there evidence of an ecological transition present in the region? Evidence of the land use/land cover impacts of these global-to-loc al linkage shifts is developed for the region by examining the socio-econom ic conditions and land use/land cover changes. These interactions are studi ed through a review of primary and secondary reference sources. The results of the analysis indicate that local conditions and actors remain important in determining local land use/land cover change in South Florida despite a long history of non-local interventions/processes in the region. In recent years, globalization and other non-local influences may have activated loc al coalitions around land-use change issues. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.