" Of course, this anti sprawl letter-writers all lived in sprawling suburbs in the former Everglades. Now that they were settled in their gated communities, they wanted to slam the gate behind them. It is easy to fulminate about the costs of south Florida’s growth- its gridlock, environmental degradation, inadequate municipal services, and cookie-cutter landscape- but there is no denying the allure of its 75-degree January afternoons. Even in south Florida fails to manage its growth or preserve its natural beauty, it will still be more attractive than Cleveland or Buffalo in the winter. And even if it fails to diversity its economy or protect its aquifers, it will still look like paradise to residents of Havana or Caracas. "

― , The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise