The information contained in this section is derived from many sources including the Wall Street Journal, Kiplingers Washington Letters, Cahners Construction Forecasts and the U.S. Commerce Dept. All forecasts are LASN's unless otherwise noted.

·Landscape Architects can look to 1994 with hope, as all indications show a modest yet consistent growth. Now that Clinton is learning how to temper his comments and actions, a la Gergen, the business community is seeing consumer confidence rising once again. The one cloud continues to be the mounting deficit which under Clinton's Deficit Reduction Plan will rise an estimated $500 Billion in the next four years. . . Don't get me started . . .

In the mean time, look to community and governmental projects to provide work for LA's and to buy product from the vendors. Cash flow, of course, is always a problem when dealing with the gov't as is the paper work, but those firms that make an effort and specialize can reap huge rewards from these projects.

·The Clinton Administration is also encouraging development by easing some of the environmental restrictions that have historically been beyond approach. Spotted Owls and Gnatcatchers are being given special zones for procreation and habitat within the development zones. This is making many people happy but hard line environmentalists question the long term ramifications. Habitat enhancement/ restortation may be a burgeoning specialty for landscape architects who offer land planning services, and could provide a link that only a steward of the land could provide.

·One of the peripheral benefits of NAFTA will be a $200 million development fund going to communitities off the border that show adverse affects to the agreement. This comes from a joint Mexican American development pool which should reach $2-3 billion over the next several years.

·Multi-family housing seems to have stabilized and is beginning to head back up. For the past two years MFHing has held steady at a little over 150,000 annual starts and that appears to be rising possibly as high as 10% in '93. These figures are nowhere near the 1983-86 rate of more than 600,000 starts per year. Population increases will bring demand back to moderate 350-400,000 starts by the end of the decade.

·With lower interest rates, and they will stay fairly low throughout '94, and with stable housing prices, which have stopped falling but will be slow to rise, existing home sales should top 4.25 million in '94. New home sales and starts show an average increase, but month to month have shown increases above 20% and decreases just as severe.

·Of the four corners of the country, only Florida is showing solid signs of recovery. Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale are all expected to see major population growth between now and the end of the century. Look to these areas for modest growth in residential construction starts and for solid to fantastic growth in office and retail starts.

·The Pacific Northwest is stabilizing but still feeling the effects of the slow Aerospace industry. Don't look for major improvement, but there may be a move to increase retail locations in the southern Puget Sound communities of Tacoma and Olympia.

·Denver is leading the rocky mountain region in quietly becoming a solid arena for growth. According to a Cahners report, Denver is showing solid growth in Residential, Office, Retail, Industrial and Retro construction. So too are Salt Lake City and Southern Idaho.

·Further south, Tuscon and Phoenix are picking up the businesses that are leaving California. Arizona has abundant land, favorable weather (although mid-summer is severe), favorable taxes/restrictions and a surprising watershed. Lots of new construction, even before the border state feels the effects of NAFTA. Same goes for Vegas where theme park casinos are going to bring in more tourists, more residents, and more business opportunitities for LA's.

·California is still in a severe construction slump as well as a slump in employment and consumer confidence. Many are hoping to see positive results from NAFTA but these will not immediately affect the construction/landscape architectural markets. Areas of opportunities can be seen in fire recovery, public works, and multi-family housing, but competition makes it tough to make a profit for LA's. Many California LA's are looking to forecasted hot spots across the country for relief. However, there is still no substitute for creative marketing, and effective leadership will lead to more work.

·Texas looks solid, especially in Dallas and Houston with industry taking advantage of its central location and proximity to Mexico. NAFTA should be a boon for the Lone Star State, that will see hefty gains in population, as well as industrial and residential construction starts.

·Chicago . . . If you look at Cahners Top US Construction Markets for 1994 you have to believe that Chicago is in another economy, as the city ranks in the top four in all seven categories listed: New Residential Construction(#1); Residential Additions(#4); New Nonresidential Construction(#1); Nonresidential Additions(#2); Office Construction(#4); Retail Construction(#1); and Industrial Construction(#1). Minneapolis, St Louis and Indianapolis are also within this mid-western building belt and show signs of solid growth in both population and construction starts.

·From Atlanta, up through the Carolinas, positive signs in consumer confidence, a favorable business climate and the upcoming Olympics are feeding the growth in this areas industrial, office and residential building. Watch for Atlanta's 3.1 million citizens grow to more than 4.3 million by the first decade of the 21st century.

·The Northeast seems to be holding its own but not going anywhere fast. Boston has seen spurts of residential construction starts reaching as high as 26% over last year's figures, but these numbers are inconsistent and are gauged against last year's recessionized numbers. Pittsburgh also shows signs of life with a new city plan and renovation underway.

·All in all, the economy looks to be picking up and is expected to grow at an LASN prediction of 3.25% in GNP. This number does not light a lot of fires, but signals the beginning of recovery. Competition will remain stiff, with profits coming through good management, new markets, and improved technology. LASN