Why Mobile LiDAR in Florida Is So Important to City Planning

Florida’s population is growing rapidly, seeing a 1.1% increase in the 15 months from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021. If that rate of growth continues, that’s like seeing an 8.8% increase in the next decade. That type of growth has city planners concerned, as it represents a need for additional services, from new roads and residences to new utility services and public areas such as parks. Given that the increase often happens on the most desirable land, this makes careful planning more important than ever.

For this reason, it’s vital that city planners consider the use of mobile LiDAR in Florida as much as possible when making these plans. To help show the importance of this technology in the planning process, here are a couple of different looks at how a city moves forward with planning:

• The first city fails to use mobile LiDAR in Florida city planning. It discovers halfway through laying out a new park that there’s an old Spanish cemetery in the only location where the new park structure can be planned, requiring dramatic revisions to the structure’s foundation to be able to move it to a new location. Poor soil conditions require a significant increase in road stabilization processes while environmental groups protest wetlands destruction.
• The second city uses mobile LiDAR in Florida to find the ideal location for its park’s structure, allowing the city to plan the structure for the conditions from the beginning. The discovery of an early Colonial cemetery allows the city to plan a place for mourners to scatter ashes while retaining the sanctity of that specific location. City planners route roads and paths over stable grounds.

By taking existing conditions into consideration by using mobile LiDAR in Florida city planning, it’s much easier to avoid these difficult, dangerous or culturally important areas when expanding city offerings. Need help with your LiDAR needs? Contact us for help!