Andrea Linke, Ruth Schmutz

Florida‘s specific and rich natural condition is an important pillar of its identity and attraction. At the same time the Florida lifestyle is based on the domestication and annihilation of this nature (Air conditioning, golf courses etc.). For long Florida‘s ecosystem has been altered without any regard to its value. Land development and water use have transformed the state, primarily through drainage and infill of the wetlands that once covered most of the peninsula. The myth of transforming „useless swamps“ into „high-quality living environments“ through the means of modern engineering lies at the base of its Florida‘s speculative real-estate development. Only since the Seventies has a sense for the value and vulnerability of Florida’s ecosystem developed. Today many public and private organizations are involved in natural preservation on different scales. Especially private „environmentalist“ groups exercise great influence on all development. Nature protection has become a powerful land user and environment-friendliness an unavoidable criteria.