Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its west, and from the Broward County line to its north to 151st Street to its south. The city's name originated from Florida State Road 860, a major roadway through the area also known as Miami Gardens Drive. Miami Gardens had a population of 111,640 as of 2020. It is Florida's most populous city with a majority African American population and also home to the largest percentage of African Americans (66.97 percent) of any city in Florida, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is a principal city within the

Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the List of largest cities, 34th largest metropolitan ar ...

, the nation's ninth largest and world's 65th largest metropolitan area with a population of 6.158 million people as of 2020. Miami Gardens is the home of

Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I colle ...

, a 64,767 capacity

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

that serves as the home field for both the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

and the Miami Hurricanes, the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

college football team, which has won five national championships since 1983.

History

In the wake of the construction of I-95 in the late 1960s, many

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

- and upper-income

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and West Indian American families migrated from

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

neighborhoods like Liberty City to what became Miami Gardens (also called Carol City, Norland or Norwood) as race-based covenants were outlawed with the Fair Housing Act, and mostly lower income blacks moved into the Liberty City and Little Haiti neighborhoods surrounding Liberty Square and Edison Courts. Miami Gardens was incorporated on May 13, 2003. The city's neighborhoods of Andover,

Bunche Park Bunche Park is a neighborhood in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It was formerly a census-designated place. Geography Bunche Park is located at (25.921871, -80.234469). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a to ...

, Carol City,

Lake Lucerne __NOTOC__ Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central ...

, Norland, Opa-locka North, and Scott Lake were previously

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

s within Miami-Dade County. 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 drug Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...

s throughout the city. Around that time, the city's tax revenues dropped to the third-lowest in Miami-Dade County.Garcia-Roberts, Gus. "The Curse." '' Miami New Times''. February 10, 2009

. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2018. In 2012, Oliver Gilbert, only the second mayor the city has had, proposed forming a community redevelopment agency (CRA).Oliver Gilbert's Issues
" Retrieved on October 22, 2018. CRAs are formed to remove "

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

and blight", to improve the physical environment of the city and to combat the social and economic problems typical of slum areas. CRAs are funded with property tax increases, which funds are used, in part, to stimulate private investment in the rehabilitation of the community.

Demographics

The city was incorporated in 2003, but various parts of the city appear as census designated places in the 2000 census and previous censuses. They now make up the neighborhoods of Andover,

, Carol City,

, Norwood, Opa-locka North, and Scott Lake. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Miami Gardens was 111,640 per the 2020 census.

2020 census

''Note: the U.S. Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race''

Hispanic population

2010 Census

In 2010, there were 34,284 housing units of which 6.0% were vacant. As of 2016, the age distribution was 5.6% under the age of 5, 6.7% from 5 to 9, 6.5% from 10 to 14, 15.5% from 15 to 24, 14.6% from 25 to 34, 12.7% 35 to 44, 13.1% 45 to 54, 12.6% 55 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The population was 46.9% male and 53.1% female. Families made up 72% of households, while 28% were non-families. The average household size was 3.52 members, and the city covered .2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
." Retrieved on October 22, 2018.

2000 Census

As of 2000, the Bunche Park neighborhood of Miami Gardens had the ninth highest percentage of African-American and black residents in the US, with 96.5% of the populace. It also was the most Bahamian place in the United States, as well as having the highest percentage of British West Indians in the US, at 1.8% (which tied with Brentwood, Maryland.) It was also home to the fifty-third highest percentage of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

ans in the US, at 2.8% of all residents (which also tied with

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology ...

Lake Alfred Lake Alfred is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was approximately 5,015 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The city was established soon after ...

and Brentwood, New York.) As of 2000, the Carol City section of Miami Gardens had the twenty-seventh highest percentage of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n residents in the US, with 18.75% of the populace. It had the nineteenth highest percentage of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

n residents in the US, at 5.80% (which tied with Lake Park, Florida,) and the thirty-ninth highest percentage of Dominican residents in the US, at 3% of its population. It also had the fifty-sixth most

ans in the US, at 2.50% (tied with five other areas in the US, including

Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

and Taft, Florida) while it had the twentieth highest percentage of

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

ns, at 2.20% of all residents. The Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens is also home to the seventieth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.15% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to Miami Gardens, the Andover neighborhood had English as a

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...

accounted for 74.96% of all residents, while Spanish accounted for 17.91%, French Creole accounted for 4.61%,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

made up 1.58%, West African Niger-Congo languages ( Kru, Igbo and

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

) were at 0.52%, and Yiddish was the

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...

for 0.39% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to Miami Gardens, the Bunche Park neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 95.97% of all residents, while Spanish was at 3.07%, and French Creole as a mother tongue made up 0.94% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to Miami Gardens, the Carol City neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 53.73% of all residents, while Spanish accounted for 43.16%, and French Creole as a mother tongue made up 2.15% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to Miami Gardens, the Lake Lucerne neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 82.27% of all residents, while Spanish accounted for 14.16%, French Creole was at 2.55%, and French as a mother tongue made up 1.00% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to Miami Gardens, the Norland neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 74.87% of all residents, while French Creole accounted for 12.92%, Spanish was at 10.19%, and French as a mother tongue made up 1.02% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to Miami Gardens, the Opa-Locka North neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 75.24% of all residents, while Spanish was spoken by 21.04%, French Creole was at 3.27%, and Jamaican Creole as a mother tongue made up 0.44% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to Miami Gardens, the Scott Lake neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 85.76% of all residents, while 6.81% spoke Spanish, French Creole accounted for 5.83%, French was at 0.93%, and Jamaican Creole as a mother tongue made up 0.64% of the population.

Crime rates

According to City Rating, Miami Gardens crime statistics have decreased in the past 13 years. The crimes that have decreased the most are property crimes and violent crimes. The crime rate for Miami Gardens for 2018 is expected to be lower than in 2016. Miami Garden's 2016 violent crime rate was 63.64% higher than the national violent crime rate, and the property crime rate was 30.99% higher than the national property crime rate.Miami gardens Crime Statistics
." Retrieved on October 22, 2018 In 2016, Miami Gardens' violent crime rate was higher than that in Florida by 50.99%, and the property crime rate was 19.49% higher. In 2016, there were 432 reported cases of aggravated assault, 22 reported cases of arson, 509 reported cases of

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murde ...

, 24 cases of

forcible rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

, 2,743 cases of

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engl ...

and

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for so ...

, 419 reported cases of motor vehicle theft, 22 reported cases of murder and

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ...

, and 265 cases of

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

. The projected 2018 crime data is as follows: 286 reported cases of

aggravated assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cri ...

, 26 reported cases of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, 435 reported cases of

, 7 cases reported of

, 2,139 cases reported of

and

, 205 cases reported of motor vehicle theft, 18 reported cases of murder and

, and 102 reported cases of

.Miami gardens Crime Statistics
." Retrieved on November 18, 2012

Sports facilities

The Calder Race Course opened in 1971. Miami Gardens is home to the

, who play in

on land that was part of the

CDP. This stadium also hosts the annual

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

college football game, and is the home field for the

Hurricanes football team. The Miami Open tennis tournament is held on the grounds of the stadium. The

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

shared Hard Rock Stadium with the Dolphins for almost two decades until, in 2012, they relocated to

and changed their name to the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

. In 2022, the Miami International Autodrome hosted the

Miami Grand Prix The Miami Grand Prix is a Formula One Grand Prix which forms part of the 2022 Formula One World Championship, with the event taking place at the Miami International Autodrome on a ten-year contract. History In 2018, a proposal for the Miami G ...

for

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

Healthcare

The city of Miami Gardens has several health care clinics and facilities that offer medical care and support to its residents. Although the city has no hospital directly within its limits, Jackson North Medical Center, Concentra Urgent Care, and, Chen Medical Center provide medical services to the residents of Miami Gardens. Supplementing this, several health care clinics and facilities provide medical services that include general medicine, walk-in/urgent care, dental services,

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined ar ...

, physical therapy, chiropractor services, laboratory tests,

x-rays X-rays (or rarely, ''X-radiation'') are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. In many languages, it is referred to as Röntgen radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered it in 1895 and named it ' ...

sonograms Sonogram may refer to: * '' S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.'', a 2005 album by ''One Be Lo'' * Sonograph, a term used for an audio-frequency spectrogram, a visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies in a sound * Ultrasonogram Medical ultrasound i ...

, osteoporosis screening,

vaccinations Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulati ...

, and health and exercise programs.

Government

Miami Gardens is governed by a seven-member

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. Members include Mayor Oliver Gilbert (since 2012), and six council members, four elected from districts and two elected citywide. The mayor recommends – and the city council hires – the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk. These are 17 of the many departments for which the City Manager of Miami Gardens creates a budget.

Mayors

*Shirley Gibson, 2003–2012 *Oliver G. Gilbert III, 2012–2020 *Rodney Harris, 2020–Present

Police

The Miami Gardens Police Department is the lead law enforcement agency for the 110,000 residents living within the city's . The department operates under a unified command structure with its headquarters located at 1020 NW 163 Drive, Miami Gardens, Florida 33169. The department became operational on Sunday, December 16, 2007 with 159 sworn officers. Since then, the department has grown to 259 members consisting of 201 sworn positions with 58 non-sworn support positions.

Police controversy

In 2013, law enforcement abuses were alleged regarding the Miami Gardens Police Department by several news outlets. The abuses were first uncovered when it became public that a convenience store employee, Earl Sampson was arrested 27 times for trespassing, while working at and around the store at which he was employed. Video evidence was gathered by the owner of the store, Ali Saleh, showing Miami Garden police involved in clear and repeated misconduct involving his employee, and customers. According to the ''Miami Herald''s

Julie K. Brown Julie K. Brown (born 1961) is an American investigative journalist with the ''Miami Herald'' best known for pursuing the sex trafficking story surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, who in 2008 was allowed to plead guilty to two state-level prostitution of ...

: "The videos show, among other things, cops stopping citizens, questioning them, aggressively searching them and arresting them for trespassing when they have permission to be on the premises". It appeared Sampson had been arrested in this way due to police quotas, a department culture, and that Sampson was easy to arrest. Sampson always pleaded guilty so they would let him out almost immediately, with one exception where he pleaded not guilty, and he was jailed for 20 days. The guilty plea would validate the officers' improper arrest and increment their quota, so he became a continuous target.

Volume of stops

It was reported that, between 2008 and 2013, 99,980 stops occurred in Miami Gardens, involving 56,922 people, over half of the city's population. In the City of Miami, 3,753 stops occurred during the same period, with four times the population. Some stops involved children aged 5 to 7, totaling more than 1,000 children. These numbers were compiled after news regarding Earl Sampson.

Resignation and lawsuits

Following these reports, the police chief resigned. Civil rights lawsuits have been filed against the Miami Gardens Police Department by the store owner and others who were illegally detained and/or arrested. A police officer filed a lawsuit claiming that he had been fired for reporting abuses.

Education

Public schools

Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools. Norland Middle School, in the Miami Gardens area, has a

magnet program In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. " Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as schoo ...

in dance, music, theatre and art, which began in 1985. The young actors Alex R. Hibbert and Jaden Piner, who starred in the Oscar-winning film ''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. Illumination The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ...

'', were trained at this school.

Private schools

The Archdiocese of Miami operates area Catholic schools. Monsignor Edward Pace High School is in the Miami Gardens city limits. The archdiocese formerly operated Saint Monica School in Miami Gardens.

Colleges and universities

St. Thomas University St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: * Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

* Florida Memorial University * Sullivan and Cogliano Training Centers

Public libraries

Miami-Dade Public Library System operates the North Dade Regional Library, which opened in September 1979.North Dade Regional
." Miami-Dade Public Library System. Retrieved on September 28, 2009.

Notable people

* Denzel Curry, rapper and songwriter *

Diamante A diamanté (also spelled diamante) is a glittering ornament, such as an artificial jewel (e.g. a rhinestone) or a sequin. Diamante may also refer to: Places Argentina * Diamante, Entre Ríos, a ''municipio'' in Diamante Department * Diama ...

, professional wrestler known also known as "Angel Rose" * Andre Johnson, retired professional NFL football player for Houston Texans * Trayvon Martin, shooting victim of

George Zimmerman George Michael Zimmerman (born October 5, 1983) is an American man who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black boy, in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. On July 13, 2013, he was acquitted of second-degree murder in '' Flor ...

* Peter O’Brien,

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player * Jo Marie Payton, actress and singer * Omar Jeffery Pineiro, rapper, songwriter and producer known by his stage name "Smokepurpp" * Lil Pump, rapper and songwriter * Flo Rida, rapper and songwriter *

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

, rapper and songwriter * Earl Sampson, convenience store worker notable for being arrested 288 times in five years

Surrounding areas

* Broward County (

Miramar Miramar is a place name of Spanish and Portuguese origin. It means "sea-view" or "sea sight" from ''mirar'' ("to look at, to watch") and ''mar'' ("sea"). It may refer to: Places Africa * Miramar, Port Elizabeth, see St Dominic's Priory School ...

) * Broward County (

)

Broward County ( West Park) *

Country Club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

, Miami Lakes Left

Ives Estates Ives Estates is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 17,586 at the 2000 census. Geography Ives Estates is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of ...

, Ojus,

North Miami Beach North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the U.S. Coast Guard, the city was renamed "North Miami Be ...

, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County * Miami Lakes Down arrow left

Unincorporated Miami-Dade County * Unincorporated Miami-Dade County,

References

External links

City of Miami Gardens
official website
Miami-Dade County
{{Authority control Miami Gardens 2003 establishments in Florida Cities in Miami-Dade County, Florida Populated places established in 2003 Cities in Florida Cities in Miami metropolitan area