Downtown Fort Myers, Urban Environments

When you think of historical cities, you usually tend to think of cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, at least I do for that matter. I would never think that historical and Fort Myers would go together. However it turns out that Fort Myers has it's own place to play in history. Fort Myers was home to the Calusa Indians and the Seminole Indians before they were driven out or killed off by European disease. Afterwards, Fort Myers was established as a fort during the Seminole wars called Fort Harvie. It was then abandoned and later reestablished as a fort once more buy this time it was named Fort Myers. During the Civil War it was occupied by Black Federal Troops. Fort Myers was the only city/fort in the south that fought on the union side. Years later Ford, Edison, and Firestone changed Fort Myers once more. Edison was down here looking for way to produce rubber for Firestone's tires that way Ford would be able to use them for the manufacturing of his cars. 

2. How has the city government addressed environmental issues?

Florida was built on top of swampland and Fort Myers is no exception. Fort Myers was built on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. Of course this raises some environmental issues. The city of Fort Myers addressed some of these by building a filtration system tank. There are two tanks, one is where rainwater is collected and the second tank is where the water is then filtered and pumped into the Caloosahatchee. You would never be able to tell what these tanks were because they are disguised as aesthetically pleasing water fountains.

Although the city is taking measures to be environmentally friendly and conserve the environment in the city, it can prove difficult. Fort Myers also depends on tourism for most of it's economy. There are many developers that want to come in and tear down historical areas to build new properties. This puts the city in quite the predicament because it has to choose between economic prosperity and the conservation of the environment and historical aspects.

Although Forty Myers is a big city, there are aspects of biophilia present throughout it. Centennial Park is a great example. Centennial Park is a combination of environment meets big city. Citizens have a chance to enjoy the outdoors by walking the park and being exposed to green space. There is also The Palm Park that is further down from Centennial. This park contains palm trees from all over the world.