Miami Gardens, Florida

City of Miami Gardens, Florida
City of Miami Gardens, Florida
	— City —
	; Seal
	; Seal
	Location in Miami-Dade and the state of Florida.
	Coordinates: 25°56′31.64″N 80°16′11.71″W / 25.9421222°N 80.2699194°WCoordinates: 25°56′31.64″N 80°16′11.71″W / 25.9421222°N 80.2699194°W
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Miami-Dade
Incorporated	May 13, 2003
	Government
- Mayor	Shirley Gibson
	Area
- Land	20 sq mi (51.8 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	7 ft (2 m)
	Population (2007)
- City	108,862
- Density	5,328.41/sq mi (2,057.25/km2)
- Metro	5,422,200
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	305
FIPS code	12-45050
GNIS feature ID	0286754
Website	http://www.miamigardens-fl.gov/

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This article is about the city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. For the census-designated place in Broward County, Florida, see Miami Gardens, Broward County, Florida.

Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. Since Key Biscayne was incorporated in 1991, there has been a movement in several unincorporated areas, also known as census-designated places (CDPs) throughout Miami-Dade County to incorporate as cities, often due to a perceived lack of attention or services from Miami-Dade County government. Residents in Miami-Dade county who lived on the Broward County line in the former CDPs of Andover, Bunche Park, Carol City, Lake Lucerne, Norland, Opa-Locka North, and Scott Lake voted to incorporate as the city of Miami Gardens in 2003, although some of those CDPs were not entirely incorporated. The city was incorporated on May 13, 2003.^[4] According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Estimates, the newly created city had a population of 100,842; however, 2004 estimates were 105,887 people, and the most current 2007 estimates of the city government place the population at 108,862.^[5] Miami Gardens is the largest city in Florida that has a majority of black residents.

[edit] History

Around the 1970s many middle class African-American families began to move into what is now Miami Gardens; they left areas of the city of Miami such as Liberty City and Overtown. In 2007 Mayor Shirley Gibson said that the city would no longer allow any low income housing developments; many residents blamed the developments for spreading crime and recreational drugs throughout the city. Around that time the city's tax revenues dropped to being the third lowest in Miami-Dade County.^[6]

[edit] Demographics

Because the city was incorporated in 2003 and many of the CDP's comprising the current city of Miami Gardens were only partially incorporated, much of the demographic information is either incomplete or indeterminable. Please see the individual listing for the former CDP's of Andover, Bunche Park, Carol City, Lake Lucerne, Norwood, Opa-Locka North, and Scott Lake for more in-depth demographic data. The estimated population as of 2005 is 106,566.

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 100,809 people, 29,262 households, and 23,661 families residing in the city. There were 30,988 housing units. The population density is 5,328.41/mi² (2,057.25/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 79.39% African American, 4% White (4% were Non-Hispanic White,)^[7] 0.30% Native American, 2.30% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 2.62% from other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. 16.30% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 29,262 households, and the age distribution was 7.25% under the age of 5, 8.8% from 5 to 9, 9.7% from 10 to 14, 16.9% from 15 to 24, and 13.2% 25 to 34, 14.3% 35 to 44, 12.5% 45 to 54, 8.7% 55 to 64 and 8.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The population is 47% male and 53% female. Family households made up 95.6%, while 4.4% were non-family households. The average household size was 3.39 members, and the city covered 20 square miles.^[8]

Bunche Park and Carol City had high percentages of various ethnic groups, such as African-Americans and black residents, Bahamians, British West Indians, Colombians, Cubans, Dominicans, Haitians, Jamaicans and Nicaraguans.^[9]^[10]

[edit] Community centers

Miami Gardens is home to the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins, both of whom play in Sun Life Stadium on land that was part of the Lake Lucerne CDP. Sun Life Stadium also hosts the annual Orange Bowl college football game and is the home field for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. Calder Race Course is also located in the city. The Antioch Mission Baptist Church of Carol City is a megachurch with over 7,500 members, active in the community.^[11]

[edit] Government

Miami Gardens is governed by a seven member City Council. Members include Shirley Gibson (mayor since 2003), and six Council members, four of whom are elected from districts and two who are elected city wide. The Mayor recommends, and the City Council hires, the City Manager, City Attorney and the City Clerk. The City Manager, currently^[when?] Danny O. Crew, is responsible for the day-to-day management of all City employees and the City's $116 million annual budget. The City Manager is assisted in his duties by three Assistant City Managers. Currently the City has 530 FTE employees. On December 16, 2007, the City initiated its own police department fielding 156 sworn officers and 40 civilian staff. Previously, the City had contracted with Miami-Dade County for patrol services.