Estimating the Need for Cemetery Spaces in South Florida: An Exercise in Applied Economic Geography

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to relate the author's experiences in preparing for and participating in an administrative hearing to petition the Florida Department of Banking and Finance for a license to establish a cemetery for a group of investors. The case had a significant geographic component in the necessity to define a market area and to estimate the demand for, and supply of, cemetery spaces in that market area. This paper also demonstrates the extent to which the legal system supports the avoidance of certain issues that might damage the case of one's client, though such methods of investigation would be unacceptable in an academic setting.