Smart Cities Florida's Babcock Ranch and the Future of Autonomous Communities by Stephen Baker An 18,000-acre development in southwest Florida seeks to be the model for short-range autonomous mobility and sustainable power for it all. A population boom over the last century has transformed the landscape of southwestern Florida, adapting it to the automobile. Thousands of square miles of palm groves, wetlands and scrub have given way to highways, driveways and parking lots. Isolated from this tangle of pavement between Port Charlotte and Ft. Myers is Babcock Ranch, which has remained stubbornly green. 28 January 2019 SAE An SAE-sponsored demo day at the new Babcock Ranch development allowed participants to sample an automated Range Rover along a pre-described route. AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ENGINEERING