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Let’s break out the crystal ball and take a look at what Florida will look like in 50 years. As Matt Galka tells us, one organization is trying to forecast what the state will look like in 2070, and what we should start doing to prepare.

Florida is home to nearly 20 million people now.  And by the year 2070, we are expected to have around 34 million residents.  It could be a problem.

Vivian Young works with 1000 Friends of Florida. The Group released a forecast entitled Florida 2070 which shows a state that adds 15 million people in the next 50 or so years. And with more people comes more development, but that could hurt the environment.

“If we continue existing development patters, more than 1/3 of the state will be developed by 2070,” she said.

So what part of the state can expect the most change? The area between Tampa and Daytona. The forecast predicts nearly half of that land will see new development.

Developer and realtor Josh Kasper says a growing population is always good for business.

“I think that the law of supply and demand will create more opportunity for developers, contractors, and everyone associated with building,” he said.

But the state needs to be careful and not get overrun.

“Smart development would be taking into account some of the developments that need revitalization and the infrastructure improvements that are aging and getting older and the market could use an update,” said Kasper.

One of the suggestions from the report – building up, and more compactly, and focusing on conservation lands.

1000 Friends of Florida worked with the University of Florida and the state’s Department of Agriculture on the study.