Florida International University / Metropolitan Center Economic Development Implementation Plan:

April, 2001

The following is a chronology and brief summary of Miami-Dade’s major economic development policy and planning initiatives during the past twenty years. Table 2 is a more extensive look at the various plans that have been undertaken in the past 25 years.

Adjustment Plan for Civil Disturbance Areas: Janus Associates Report, 1981

The 1981 Janus Associates Report was the County’s first comprehensive policy plan to include small and minority business development. The EDA-funded plan provided a comprehensive assessment of the problems affecting Dade’s black population and recommended strategies for job development and alternative methods for assisting minority firms to participate in County funded projects.

Economic Development

Strategies in Dade County: Update to the Janus Report, 1983

The economic recession of the early 1980s coupled with new waves of immigration from Cuba and Haiti created new demands on MiamiDade’s social and economic structure. In 1983, the Miami-Dade Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) updated and restructured the strategies recommended in the prior Janus Report. The intent was to update economic and demographic characteristics of the County, review the problems inherent in MiamiDade’s economy (particularly as they related to minorities and distressed target areas), and develop strategies to address problems for the entire system. This shift in strategy changed the geographic focus of the original Janus Report from targeted Black communities to the larger County.