August 2020 – “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” — Corrie ten Boom As we face continued pandemic and bad economic news from the last three months (Q2 2020), it may help to take a longer view. Fortunately, the July Economic Estimating Conference – Florida Economy report…
August 2020 – On Thursday, September 3rd from 8:30 am – 9:45 am, join a tapestry of top Tampa Bay real estate and land use organizations for an important conversation about race, equity, and real estate. Leading equity expert and keynote speaker, Charles T. Brown, MPA, CPD, LCI, senior researcher and adjunct professor at the…
Felicia Pulliam | Financial Manager | Tenure: 23 years Felicia started working at the Planning Commission in April 1997 as an Accountant I and is now the Financial Manager for the Hillsborough County Planning Commission and MPO. She creates and maintains both agency’s budgets and submits them to the county annually. She is also responsible for…
Gena Torres | Executive Planner | Tenure: 26 years Gena Torres is an Executive Planner with the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization. After graduating from the University of South Florida, she has spent the past 30 years working to make the streets of Tampa and surrounding communities safer. She has tackled the challenge of turning around…
August 2020 – Approximately 140 rarely seen geo-referenced aerial photographs are now available to researchers and the general public via a new Planning Commission story map. The Oblique Aerials Browser provides access to high-resolution Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) images documenting Tampa’s changing post-war urban landscape prior to the development of the 1960s. Many of…
August 2020 – The State of Florida’s Demographic Estimating Conference recently announced that, due to the pandemic, Florida’s Population for 2025 will be 200,139 fewer people than originally projected in December of 2019. This announcement raises the thorny issue of population projections in the era of COVID-19. How can we prepare population projections in a…
July 2020 – On June 27, MPO and Planning Commission staff had the honor of participating in Mayor Jane Castor’s Art on the Block Mural Day. The City of Tampa commissioned local artists to paint five murals in neighborhoods located in West Tampa, East Tampa, Tampa Heights, Westshore, and Downtown in one day. Each of…
July 2020 – The Independent Oversight Committee (IOC) for the Transportation Sales Surtax first annual public hearing that was scheduled for August 11, 2020 has been postponed to Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. The calendar will be posted with the agenda and details on ways citizens can participate in the public hearing at…
Caroline Charles | Community Relations Coordinator | Tenure: 11 months Caroline began her government career working in the Marketing & Publicity Office for the 35th Force Support Squadron in Misawa Air Force Base, Japan. After moving to Tampa in 2019, she started working for the Planning Commission on the Public Engagement team. One of her…
Yassert Gonzalez | Economics, Demographics, and Research Manager | Tenure: 7 months Yassert Gonzalez liked Tampa Bay so much he had to come back! Yassert started last December as the Economics, Demographics, and Research Manager. He oversees the Reference and Analytics Team. His team routinely assists the public with research questions. Yassert provides the agency…
July 2020 – Gibsonton residents and business owners now have access to data that may be used in supporting and justifying desired changes to their community. In late 2019, the Board of County Commissioners requested Planning Commission staff to retain a consultant for completion of the Gibsonton Community Profile (the Profile). The Profile effectively updates…
July 2020 – If you have been a part of a project contributing to a better quality of life in our community, we encourage you to submit your project for the 38th Annual Planning & Design Awards. Save $70 when you submit your complete Early Bird entry packet by July 31! Learn more
July 2020 – USF’s Urban & Regional Planning faculty members Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth Strom and Assistant Professor Dr. Peng Chen discussed the important topic of Cities & Mobility in a post COVID-19 world for our June Info BBQ (Brown Bag Quarterly).
June 2020 – Michele Ogilvie’s first day of work at the Planning Commission was December 17, 1986. The Tampa section was very busy completing the Zoning Conformance public hearings of South Tampa, East Tampa, and notices for the North Tampa hearings, to be distributed the first week of the New Year. The agency was also…
June 2020 – Affordable Housing and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) are increasingly being discussed as a paired challenge facing planners for good reason. Housing and transportation represent the first and second largest expenditures for a majority of U.S. households (Center for Transit Oriented Development, 2014). According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,…
