Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida is the region along the south west gulf coast of the U.S. State of Florida. The area is known for its sugar white sand beaches, lush tropical landscape, and winter resort economy.

Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally considered to put it south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee, and mostly north of the Everglades and to include Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. For some purposes, the inland counties of DeSoto, Glades, and Hendry, and the thinly populated mainland section of Monroe County, south of Collier, are also included.

The region includes four metropolitan areas: the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota MSA (733,000 population) (sometimes alternately considered a part of the Tampa Bay Area to the north), the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA (660,000), the Naples-Marco Island MSA (340,000), and the Punta Gorda MSA (165,000). The most populous county in the region is Lee County (661,000 population), and the region's largest city is Cape Coral with a population of 165,831 as of 2013.

Map of Southwest Florida

Development

Fishermen wading in Fort Myers Beach.

With no large cities in its early history, Southwest Florida was largely ignored by commercial developers until the late 1800s. As a result, the region lacks the heavier development present in other parts of Florida. In recent years however, there has been a major real estate boom focusing on downtown Fort Myers (high-rise residential condominiums); southern Lee County (commercial development and high-technology); eastern Collier County (residential development); and eastern parts of Bradenton. Numerous efforts in recent years have been made to reduce development and preserve open space and recreational areas.

Inland counties (DeSoto, Hendry and Glades Counties) are notably rural, with the primary economic driver being agriculture. Important products grown in this area include tomatoes, beef, sugarcane, and citrus products including oranges. Agricultural harvesting in Southwest Florida employs approximately 16,000 seasonal workers, 90 percent of which are thought to be migrants.

Government

Each county in the region has its own county government. Within each county, there are also self-governing cities, towns and villages. The remaining majority of land in each county is controlled directly by the county government. It is also very common for incorporated municipalities to contract county services in order to save costs and avoid redundancy. The region is designated as one of Florida's 4 districts for the Committee of Southern Historic Preservation (C-SHP). The district has been represented by Tommy Stolly since 2013.

Regional Transportation

Highways

Southwest Florida is served by several major highways, including the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and the Interstate 75 freeway, both of which connect the area to Tampa to the north, and Greater Miami–Ft. Lauderdale to the east. Long-term cooperative infrastructure planning is coordinated by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (web site), and in heavily populated Lee County, the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Greyhound Lines serves several locations in Southwest Florida, including Bradenton, Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Sarasota.

Airports

Southwest Florida International Airport, located in South Fort Myers, served over 7.42 million passengers in 2009 [1] and offers non-stop flights to 3 cities in Europe and 2 in Canada, in addition to 36 domestic airports. The area's secondary airport, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, served 1.34 million passengers in 2009.[2]

The following table shows the airports that serve the Southwest Florida area with commercial flights:

Airport name FAA IATA FAA
classification		 Enplanements Largest airline
(passengers)
Tampa International Airport TPA TPA Large hub 8,268,207 Southwest (5,186)
Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers) RSW RSW Medium hub 3,789,386 Delta (1,650)
Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport SRQ SRQ Small hub 1,340,000 Delta (636)
St. Petersburg–Clearwater International Airport PIE PIE Small hub 1,220,000 Allegiant (1,082)
Punta Gorda Airport (formerly Charlotte County Airport) PGD PGD Small Hub) 836,000 Allegiant (830)

Seaport

The Port of Manatee provides a full range of port services for commercial, industrial and cruise ship purposes.

Railway

Seminole Gulf Railway provides freight services throughout Southwest Florida.[3]

Tourism

Tourism is a major economic driver in the area. The warm winter climate draws tourists from across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Bonita Beach

Major attractions/destinations:

Edison's winter home.

Education

FGCU's Academic Core

Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university located just south of the Southwest Florida International Airport in South Fort Myers in Lee County, Florida. The university belongs to the 12-campus State University System of Florida. FGCU competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference in NCAA Division I sports. FGCU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate's, 51 different types of bachelor's, 29 different master's, and 6 types of doctoral degrees.[4]

Sports

The following table shows the professional teams and major NCAA Division 1 teams that play in Southwest Florida.

Club Location Sport League Tier/Division Venue (capacity)
Florida Everblades Estero Ice hockey ECHL Minor league — Third Tier Germain Arena (7,100)
Fort Myers Miracle S. Fort Myers Baseball Florida State League Minor league — Class A Hammond Stadium (7,500)
Bradenton Marauders Bradenton Baseball Florida State League Minor league — Class A LECOM Park (8,500)
Charlotte Stone Crabs Port Charlotte Baseball Florida State League Minor league — Class A Charlotte Sports Park (7,000)
Gulf Coast League Red Sox Fort Myers Baseball Gulf Coast League Rookie league JetBlue Park (10,823)
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Fort Myers Basketball Atlantic Sun Conference NCAA Division I Alico Arena (4,500)

Spring training

Florida is the traditional home for Major League Baseball spring training, with teams informally organized into the "Grapefruit League." As of 2004, Southwest Florida hosts the following major league teams for spring training:

Area codes

Media

Counties in Fort Myers Division

County County Seat Pop. (2004 est.) Pop. (2000) Change (2000–2004) Change (1990–2000)
Charlotte County Punta Gorda 157,134 141,627 +10.9% +27.6%
Collier County East Naples 296,678 251,377 +18.0% +65.3%
DeSoto County Arcadia 34,892 32,209 +8.3% +35.0%
Glades County Moore Haven 11,131 10,576 +5.2% +39.3%
Hendry County LaBelle 38,163 36,120 +5.4% +40.5%
Lee County Fort Myers 514,295 440,888 +16.6% +31.6%
Manatee County Bradenton 296,385 264,002 +12.3% +24.7%
Sarasota County Sarasota 355,477 325,957 +9.1% +17.3%
Total 1,704,155 1,500,846 +13.5%
Florida – statewide 17,397,161 15,982,378 +8.8% +23.5%

Major incorporated cities

Major unincorporated communities

Communities listed have a population greater than 30,000 according to the 2000 census.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SFIA (RSW) Total Passengers" (PDF). flylcpa.com. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  2. ↑ "Activity Report 2009" (PDF). srq-airport.com. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  3. ↑ "Freight|Murder Mystery Train". Seminole Gulf Railway. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Commission on Colleges". Sacscoc.org. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2013.

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