# Alternative Text Description for Generalized Land Use (2020)

## TABLE OF CONTENTS

- Map Overview
- Geographic Context
- Key Insights
- Visual Elements
- Symbol Guide
- Additional Information
- Data Context

## MAP OVERVIEW

This map displays generalized land use patterns across the state of Florida as of 2020. The dataset consolidates 99 specific parcel-level land use classifications into 15 broader generalized categories, providing a comprehensive view of how land is utilized throughout the state. The map reveals the distribution of agricultural lands, urban development, public lands, water bodies, and other land use types across Florida's diverse geography.

## GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The map covers the entire state of Florida, from the northern border with Georgia and Alabama in the panhandle region to the southern tip near Miami and the Florida Keys. Major cities visible on the map include Jacksonville on the northeast coast, Orlando in central Florida, Tampa on the west coast, and Miami in the southeast. Portions of neighboring states including Georgia (Savannah, Albany, Valdosta, Dothan) are shown in gray for geographic context. The map displays both the Atlantic Coast on the east and the Gulf of America coastline on the west and south, including Cape Coral in southwest Florida.

## KEY INSIGHTS

Agriculture dominates the interior and rural portions of Florida, appearing as the most extensive land use category across the state. Public and semi-public lands are prominently distributed throughout the state, with particularly large concentrations in the panhandle region, central Florida, and southern Florida near the Everglades. Urban development, including residential, commercial, and centrally assessed properties, concentrates around major metropolitan areas such as Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami. Water bodies are extensively present throughout Florida, reflecting the state's numerous lakes, rivers, and wetlands. A notable pattern shows agricultural lands interspersed with water features throughout the interior, while coastal areas display more diverse land use mixing including residential, recreational, and public lands.

## VISUAL ELEMENTS

### Generalized Land Use (2020)

This layer represents the consolidated land use classifications for Florida parcels, showing how land was utilized across the state in 2020.

### Acreage Not Zoned for Agriculture (yellow-green)

**Appearance:**
Yellow-green colored areas scattered throughout the map

**Distribution:**
Appears primarily in the panhandle region and scattered locations in north and central Florida

**Notable locations:**
Concentrated in the western panhandle and portions of north-central Florida

**Spatial patterns:**
Dispersed throughout agricultural regions, suggesting land that may be transitional or held for purposes other than active agriculture

### Agriculture (bright green)

**Appearance:**
Bright green areas forming the dominant land cover across much of the state

**Distribution:**
Extensively distributed throughout interior Florida, particularly in north-central, central, and south-central regions

**Notable locations:**
Major agricultural zones in the panhandle, around Lake Okeechobee, and throughout central Florida's interior

**Spatial patterns:**
Forms large contiguous blocks in rural areas, often surrounding urban centers and interspersed with water bodies

### Centrally Assessed (orange)

**Appearance:**
Orange colored areas typically appearing as linear or irregular patches

**Distribution:**
Scattered throughout the state, particularly visible in urban and suburban areas

**Notable locations:**
Appears near major cities and along transportation corridors

**Spatial patterns:**
Often forms linear patterns or clusters near developed areas, representing utility corridors or similar infrastructure

### Industrial (light purple/lavender)

**Appearance:**
Light purple or lavender colored areas

**Distribution:**
Scattered locations primarily near urban centers

**Notable locations:**
Small concentrations near major metropolitan areas including Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami

**Spatial patterns:**
Typically appears in small clusters adjacent to or within urban development zones

### Institutional (gray-purple)

**Appearance:**
Gray-purple colored areas

**Distribution:**
Dispersed throughout developed areas across the state

**Notable locations:**
Present in and around major cities and suburban communities

**Spatial patterns:**
Appears as isolated patches within or near residential and commercial areas, representing schools, hospitals, and government facilities

### Mining (dark purple/maroon)

**Appearance:**
Dark purple or maroon colored areas

**Distribution:**
Concentrated in specific regions, particularly visible in south-central Florida

**Notable locations:**
Notable concentration in the area between Lake Okeechobee and the Atlantic coast in south-central Florida

**Spatial patterns:**
Appears in distinct clusters, reflecting localized extraction operations

### Other (bright orange)

**Appearance:**
Bright orange colored areas

**Distribution:**
Scattered throughout the state with notable presence in southern Florida

**Notable locations:**
Visible concentration in the Miami metropolitan area and portions of south Florida

**Spatial patterns:**
Appears as small to medium patches in various locations, representing miscellaneous land uses not fitting other categories

### Public/Semi-Public (bright blue)

**Appearance:**
Bright blue areas forming large and prominent features

**Distribution:**
Extensively distributed throughout the entire state with particularly large blocks in the panhandle, central Florida, and southern regions

**Notable locations:**
Major concentrations in the western panhandle, the Everglades region in south Florida, and various protected areas throughout central and northern Florida

**Spatial patterns:**
Forms large contiguous blocks representing state and federal lands, parks, forests, and conservation areas, particularly prominent in less developed regions

### ROW (black)

**Appearance:**
Black linear features

**Distribution:**
Scattered throughout developed and rural areas

**Notable locations:**
Present in small amounts throughout the state

**Spatial patterns:**
Typically appears as narrow linear features representing rights-of-way for transportation or utilities

### Recreation (light green/lime)

**Appearance:**
Light green or lime colored areas

**Distribution:**
Scattered throughout the state, particularly along coastal areas

**Notable locations:**
Visible along both coastlines and near urban centers

**Spatial patterns:**
Often appears near water bodies and in developed areas, representing parks, golf courses, and recreational facilities

### Residential (light cyan/turquoise)

**Appearance:**
Light cyan or turquoise colored areas

**Distribution:**
Concentrated in urban and suburban areas throughout the state

**Notable locations:**
Major concentrations around Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami metropolitan areas

**Spatial patterns:**
Forms clusters and sprawling patterns around city centers, extending along coastlines and major transportation corridors

### Retail/Office (pink/magenta)

**Appearance:**
Pink or magenta colored areas

**Distribution:**
Appears in small concentrations within and around developed areas

**Notable locations:**
Present in commercial districts of major cities

**Spatial patterns:**
Typically appears as small clusters within urban cores and along commercial corridors

### Vacant Non-Residential (very light purple/lavender)

**Appearance:**
Very light purple or lavender colored areas

**Distribution:**
Scattered throughout developed and developing areas

**Notable locations:**
Present in suburban fringes and transitional areas

**Spatial patterns:**
Appears as small scattered patches, often adjacent to developed areas, representing undeveloped land designated for future non-residential use

### Water (light blue)

**Appearance:**
Light blue colored areas representing water bodies

**Distribution:**
Extensively present throughout the entire state

**Notable locations:**
Major concentrations include Lake Okeechobee in south-central Florida, numerous lakes throughout central Florida, and extensive wetland systems in southern Florida

**Spatial patterns:**
Highly distributed throughout the state, reflecting Florida's extensive lake systems, rivers, wetlands, and coastal waters

### Vacant/Residential (tan/beige)

**Appearance:**
Tan or beige colored areas

**Distribution:**
Scattered throughout the state in both urban and rural contexts

**Notable locations:**
Present in suburban fringes and developing areas

**Spatial patterns:**
Appears as small scattered patches, often adjacent to existing residential development, representing vacant land designated for future residential use

### Overlapping Patterns

Agricultural lands are frequently interspersed with water bodies throughout interior Florida, creating a mosaic pattern. Public and semi-public lands often border or surround water features, particularly in conservation areas. Urban development patterns show residential areas extending outward from commercial and retail cores, with industrial areas typically positioned on urban peripheries or along transportation corridors.

## SYMBOL GUIDE

- **Yellow-green areas:** Acreage Not Zoned for Agriculture - land not designated for agricultural use

- **Bright green areas:** Agriculture - land used for farming, ranching, and agricultural production

- **Orange areas:** Centrally Assessed - properties assessed as a unit, typically utilities and infrastructure

- **Light purple areas:** Industrial - manufacturing, warehousing, and industrial operations

- **Gray-purple areas:** Institutional - schools, hospitals, government facilities, and religious institutions

- **Dark purple/maroon areas:** Mining - active or former mining and extraction operations

- **Bright orange areas:** Other - miscellaneous land uses not categorized elsewhere

- **Bright blue areas:** Public/Semi-Public - government-owned lands, parks, conservation areas, and public facilities

- **Black linear features:** ROW (Right-of-Way) - transportation and utility corridors

- **Light green/lime areas:** Recreation - parks, recreational facilities, and leisure areas

- **Light cyan areas:** Residential - housing and residential developments

- **Pink/magenta areas:** Retail/Office - commercial and office developments

- **Very light purple areas:** Vacant Non-Residential - undeveloped land designated for future non-residential use

- **Light blue areas:** Water - lakes, rivers, wetlands, and other water bodies

- **Tan/beige areas:** Vacant/Residential - undeveloped land designated for future residential use

## ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This map represents a generalized view of land use across Florida, derived from parcel-specific data. The 15 categories shown are consolidations of 99 more detailed land use classifications from the original parcel data, making the map suitable for regional and statewide analysis. Users should note that beginning in 2015, changes were made to the original Florida Department of Revenue land use classification system: Value 009 became "Residential Common Elements/Areas" (maintaining Generalized Land Use code 11 - Residential), and Value 080 became "Vacant Governmental" (reclassified from Generalized Land Use code 7 - Other to code 8 - Public/Semi-Public). The map provides a comprehensive overview appropriate for understanding broad land use patterns and planning purposes at the state and regional level.

## DATA CONTEXT

**Data Source:**
The data is derived from parcel-specific land use information collected for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), with generalization from 99 original land use classes from the Florida Department of Revenue parcel data into 15 consolidated categories. Source layer: LU_GEN_2020

**Definition Query:**
No data filtering or subset criteria were applied to this view; the map displays all generalized land use categories across the entire state.

**Scale Information:**
The map is displayed at a statewide scale appropriate for understanding regional land use patterns and distributions across Florida. This scale is suitable for strategic planning and broad analysis rather than parcel-level detail.

**Coordinate System:**
NAD_1983_HARN_Florida_GDL_Albers (WKID 3087)

**Time Period of Content:**
The data represents land use conditions as of 2020.

**Limitations:**
The generalization from 99 to 15 categories means that specific land use distinctions are consolidated into broader classifications, which may obscure finer-grained variations in land use. The accuracy of the data depends on the quality and currency of the underlying parcel assessments. Users seeking detailed parcel-level information should consult the original 99-class dataset. Changes to classification methodology in 2015 should be considered when comparing to earlier versions of this dataset.

**Map Coverage:**
The map covers the entire state of Florida from the Georgia-Alabama border in the north to the Florida Keys in the south. Portions of neighboring states (Georgia and Alabama) are shown in gray for geographic context but do not contain land use data. The map includes both mainland Florida and the Keys archipelago extending southwest from the southern tip of the peninsula.

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The alternative text description of this map was AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies.

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