The Politics of Exclusion: Place and the Legislation of the Environment in the Florida Everglades

Abstract

Despite the longstanding recognition of the impor- tance of the Everglades in the nation's ecosystem, and the poten- tial impact of the Everglades Restoration Project, few social scien- tists have worked in this area, and none have explored the impact of the Restoration project on the region and its communities. This paper seeks to integrate the Everglades on local, national and glo- bal levels, emphasizing the role of politics and community organi- zations on the development of the current multi-billion dollar plan for environmental restoration. The paper explores concerns of sec- tors of the regional population and their experiences in attempts to participate in current processes; establishes levels of integration on which analysis can take place; poses questions about the dis- juncture among various sectors, including industry, development interests and community concerns on the planning process; and situates the role of sugar and the Cuban revolution on the current status of decision making on Florida and national policy develop- ers. The paper argues that current discussions of globalization are inadequate for a careful analysis of local-level interactions with larger social fields, and that these discussions follow a more politi- cized strategy of capital fluidity than a holistic analysis of rapid