Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a
coastal
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
metropolis and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
in
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. With a population of 442,241 at the
2020 census,
it is the
second-most populous city in Florida and the eleventh-most populous city in the
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...
. 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 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
is the ninth largest in the U.S. with a population of 6.138 million in 2020.
The city has the
third-largest skyline in the U.S. with over
300 high-rises, 58 of which exceed .
Miami is a major center and leader in finance, commerce, culture, arts, and international trade.
Miami's metropolitan area is by far the largest urban economy in Florida and the 12th largest in the U.S., with a GDP of $344.9 billion as of 2017.
According to a 2018
UBS
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
study of 77 world cities, Miami is the second richest city in the U.S. and third richest globally in
purchasing power
Purchasing power is the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if one had taken one unit of currency to a store in the 1950s, it would have been possible to buy a greater number of items than would ...
. Miami is a
majority-minority
A majority-minority or minority-majority area is a term used to refer to a administrative division, subdivision in which one or more minority group, racial, ethnic, and/or religious minorities (relative to the whole country's population) make up a ...
city with a
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
population of 310,472, or 70.2 percent of the city's population, as of 2020.
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...
has one of the largest concentrations of international banks in the U.S. and is home to many large national and international companies. The
Health District is home to several major
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, incl ...
-affiliated hospital and health facilities, including
Jackson Memorial Hospital
Jackson Memorial Hospital (also known as "Jackson" or abbreviated "MJMH") is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine, and the largest hospital in the United States with 1,5 ...
, the nation's largest hospital with 1,547 beds, and the
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) is the University of Miami's graduate medical school in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1952, it is the oldest medical school in the state of Florida.
Campus
The University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller Sch ...
, the University of Miami's academic medical center and teaching hospital, and others engaged in health-related care and research.
PortMiami
The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the ...
, the city's seaport, is the busiest
cruise
A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship.
Cruise or Cruises may also refer to:
Tourism
* Booze cruise
* Music cruise
* River cruise
Aeronautics and aircraft
* Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight
* Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...
port in the world in both passenger traffic and cruise lines. Miami is the second largest tourism hub for international visitors, after New York City. Miami has sometimes been called the Gateway to Latin America because of the magnitude of its commercial and cultural ties to
the region.
In 2019, Miami ranked seventh in the U.S. in business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement.
Toponymy
Miami was named in 1896 after the
Miami River, derived from
Mayaimi
The Mayaimi (also Maymi, Maimi) were Native Americans in the United States, Native American people who lived around Lake Mayaimi (now Lake Okeechobee) in the Belle Glade culture, Belle Glade area of Florida from the beginning of the Common Era ...
, the historic name of
Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwat ...
and the Native Americans who lived around it.
History
![Mouth of Miami River 20100211](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Mouth_of_Miami_River_20100211.jpg)
The
Tequesta
The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) were a Native American tribe. At the time of first European contact they occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans a ...
tribe occupied the Miami area for around 2,000 years before contact with Europeans. A village of hundreds of people, dating to 500–600 BCE, was located at the mouth of the
Miami River. It is believed that the entire tribe migrated to
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 ...
by the mid-1700s.
Settlement
In 1566, admiral
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ast, Pedro (Menéndez) d'Avilés; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceani ...
, Florida's first governor, claimed the area for
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. A Spanish
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
was constructed one year later. Spain and
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
successively ruled Florida until Spain ceded it to the United States in 1821. In 1836, the U.S. built
Fort Dallas
Fort Dallas was a military base during the Seminole Wars on the banks of the Miami River in what is now Downtown Miami, Florida, United States.
History
Old Fort Dallas was established on the plantation of Richard Fitzpatrick and William English ...
on the banks of the Miami River as part of their development of the
Florida Territory
The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish te ...
and their attempt to suppress and remove the
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
s. As a result, the Miami area became a site of fighting in the
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...
.
Founding
Miami is noted as the only major city in the United States founded by a woman.
Julia Tuttle
Julia DeForest Tuttle (née Sturtevant; January 22, 1849 – September 14, 1898) was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami, Florida, was built. For this reason, she is called the "Mother of Miami." She is the only woma ...
, a local
citrus grower and a wealthy
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
native, was the original owner of the land upon which the city was built. In the late 19th century, the area was known as "Biscayne Bay Country", and reports described it as a promising wilderness and "one of the finest building sites in Florida". The
Great Freeze
The Great Freeze is the back-to-back freezes of 1894–1895 in Northern Florida, where the brutally cold weather destroyed much of the citrus crop.
Entire communities, such as Earnestville, faded after the citrus crops and trees were lost to th ...
of 1894–1895 hastened Miami's growth, as the crops there were the only ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced
railroad tycoon
''Railroad Tycoon'' is a business simulation game series. There are five games in the series; the original ''Railroad Tycoon'' (1990), ''Railroad Tycoon Deluxe'' (1993), ''Railroad Tycoon II'' (1998), ''Railroad Tycoon 3'' (2003), and ''Sid Mei ...
Henry Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founde ...
to extend his
Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México.
Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...
to the region, for which she became known as "the mother of Miami". Miami was officially incorporated as a city on July 28, 1896, with a population of just over 300. African American labor played a crucial role in Miami's early development.
20th century
During the early 20th century, migrants from the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
and African-Americans constituted 40 percent of the city's population.
Despite their role in the city's growth, their community was limited to a small space. When landlords began to rent homes to African-Americans around Avenue J (what would later become NW Fifth Avenue), a gang of white men with torches marched through the neighborhood and warned the residents to move or be bombed.
Miami prospered during the 1920s with an increase in population and development in infrastructure as northerners moved to the city. The legacy of
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
was embedded in these developments. Miami's chief of police at the time,
H. Leslie Quigg
Howard Leslie Quigg (18871980) was an American policeman who was twice the chief of police in Miami, Florida, in the periods 1921-1928 and 1937–1944.
Quigg was a member of the Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the ...
, did not hide the fact that he, like many other white Miami police officers, was a member of the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. Unsurprisingly, these officers enforced social codes far beyond the written law. Quigg, for example, "personally and publicly beat a colored bellboy to death for speaking directly to a white woman".
The collapse of the
Florida land boom of the 1920s
The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...
, the
1926 Miami Hurricane
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
, and the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
in the 1930s slowed development. When
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
began, Miami became a base for U.S. defense against
German submarines
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
due to its prime location on the southern coast of Florida. This brought an increase in Miami's population; 172,172 people lived in the city by 1940. The city's nickname, ''The Magic City'', came from its rapid growth, which was noticed by winter visitors who remarked that the city grew so much from one year to the next that it was like magic.
After
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
rose to power in
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 ...
following the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
in 1959, many wealthy Cubans sought refuge in Miami, further increasing the city's population. Miami developed new businesses and cultural amenities as part of the
New South
New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a slogan in the history of the American South first used after the American Civil War. Reformers used it to call for a modernization of society and attitudes, to integrate more fully with the ...
in the 1980s and 1990s. At the same time, South Florida weathered social problems related to
drug wars, immigration from
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 ...
and Latin America, and the widespread destruction of
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged ...
.
Racial and cultural tensions sometimes sparked, but the city developed in the latter half of the 20th century as a major international, financial, and cultural center. It is the second-largest U.S. city with a Spanish-speaking majority (after
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
), and the largest city with a
Cuban-American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cubans, Cuban desc ...
plurality.
[U.S. Census, 2010 (Ethnicity) and Census American Community Survey 2008 (language).]
Geography
Miami and its suburbs are located on a broad plain between the
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
to the west and
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...
to the east, which extends from
Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwat ...
southward to
Florida Bay
Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland (the Florida Everglades) and the Florida Keys in the United States. It is a large, shallow estuary that while connected to the Gulf of Mexico, has limited exchange o ...
. The elevation of the area averages at around above sea level in most neighborhoods, especially near the coast. The highest points are found along the
Miami Rock Ridge
The Miami Rock Ridge is a continuous limestone outcrop which formerly encompassed a large extent of far South Florida, including portions of the Everglades ecosystem. The traditional base of the elevation ranges from northern Miami-Dade County, Fl ...
, which lies under most of the eastern Miami metro. The main portion of the city is on the shores of Biscayne Bay, which contains several hundred natural and artificial
barrier island
Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...
s, the largest of which contains
Miami Beach
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
and
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
. The
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...
, a warm
ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, s ...
, runs northward just off the coast, allowing the city's climate to stay warm and mild all year.
Geology
The surface bedrock under the Miami area is called
Miami oolite
The Miami Limestone, originally called Miami Oolite, is a geologic formation of limestone in southeastern Florida.
Miami Limestone forms the Atlantic Coastal Ridge in southeastern Florida, near the coast in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Da ...
or Miami limestone. This bedrock is covered by a thin layer of soil, and is no more than thick. Miami limestone formed as the result of the drastic changes in sea level associated with recent
glacial period
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
s, or
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
s. Beginning some 130,000 years ago, the
Sangamonian Stage raised sea levels to approximately above the current level. All of southern Florida was covered by a shallow sea. Several parallel lines of reef formed along the edge of the submerged Florida
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
, stretching from the present Miami area to what is now the
Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. The archipelago's c ...
. The area behind this reef line was, in fact, a large lagoon, and the Miami limestone formed throughout the area from the deposition of oolites and the shells of
bryozoans
Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a l ...
. Starting about 100,000 years ago, the
Wisconsin glaciation
The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cor ...
began lowering sea levels, exposing the floor of the lagoon. By 15,000 years ago, the sea level had dropped below the current level. The sea level rose quickly after that, stabilizing at the current level about 4,000 years ago, leaving the
mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
of South Florida just
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
.
Beneath the plain lies the
Biscayne Aquifer
The Biscayne Aquifer, named after Biscayne Bay, is a surficial aquifer. It is a shallow layer of highly permeable limestone under a portion of South Florida. The area it underlies includes Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Monroe County, and P ...
, a natural underground source of fresh water that extends from southern
Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...
to
Florida Bay
Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland (the Florida Everglades) and the Florida Keys in the United States. It is a large, shallow estuary that while connected to the Gulf of Mexico, has limited exchange o ...
. It comes closest to the surface around the cities of
Miami Springs
Miami Springs is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estate ...
and
Hialeah
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Mi ...
. Most of 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 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
obtains its drinking water from the Biscayne Aquifer. As a result of the aquifer, it is not possible to dig more than beneath the city without hitting water, which impedes underground construction, though some
underground parking garages exist. For this reason, the
mass transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
systems in and around Miami are elevated or
at-grade At-grade may refer to:
* At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level
* Road junction
*Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level
* Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross
* At-grade railwa ...
.
Most of the western fringes of the city border the
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
, a tropical marshland covering most of the southern portion of Florida.
Alligators
An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
that live in the marshes have ventured into Miami communities and onto major highways.
Cityscape
Neighborhoods
Miami is split roughly into north, south, west, and Downtown areas. The heart of the city is
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...
, which is on the eastern side and includes the neighborhoods of
Brickell
Brickell ( ) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida located directly east of Interstate 95, south of the historic CBD, and north of Coconut Grove. Brickell is known as the financial district in Miami, as well as South Florida.
Brickell was founded ...
,
Virginia Key
Virginia Key is an barrier island in Miami, Florida. It is located in Biscayne Bay south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne and is accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway.
The island is mainly occupied by the Virginia Key ...
,
Watson Island
Watson Island is a neighborhood and man-made island in Biscayne Bay, in Miami, Florida. It is located Immediately east of the Central Business District and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods of downtown Miami and is connected to the ma ...
, as well as
PortMiami
The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the ...
. Downtown Miami is Florida's largest and most influential central business district, with many major banks, courthouses, financial headquarters, cultural and tourist attractions, schools, parks, and a large residential population.
Brickell Avenue
Brickell Avenue is a north–south road that was formerly part of U.S. Route 1, in Miami, Florida, just south of the Miami River. North of the Brickell Avenue Bridge, U.S. Route 1 is known as Biscayne Boulevard. Brickell Avenue is the main road ...
has the largest concentration of international banks in the United States. Just northwest of Downtown is the
Health District, which is Miami's center for hospitals,
research institute
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
s and
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
, with hospitals such as
Jackson Memorial Hospital
Jackson Memorial Hospital (also known as "Jackson" or abbreviated "MJMH") is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine, and the largest hospital in the United States with 1,5 ...
,
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is the University of Miami School of Medicine's ophthalmic care, research, and education center. The institute is based in the Health District of Miami, Florida, and has been ranked consistently as the best eye hospita ...
, and 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, incl ...
's
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) is the University of Miami's graduate medical school in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1952, it is the oldest medical school in the state of Florida.
Campus
The University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller Sch ...
.
The southern side of Miami includes the neighborhoods of
Coral Way
Coral Way is a neighborhood within Miami, Florida that is defined by Coral Way, a road established by Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick during the 1920s. It is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The Coral Way neighborhood is served by ...
,
The Roads
The Roads is a neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is a triangular area located south of SW 11th Street, between SW 12th Avenue and SW 15th Road, just west of Brickell.
The Roads is known for its old homes, historic private ...
, and
Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...
. Coral Way is a historic residential neighborhood built in 1922 between Downtown and
Coral Gables, and is home to many old homes and tree-lined streets. Coconut Grove, established in 1825, is a historic neighborhood with narrow, winding roads and a heavy tree canopy.
It is the location of Miami's City Hall at
Dinner Key
Dinner Key is a marina complex in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, along the shore of Biscayne Bay on South Bayshore Drive. It was originally an island, but was connected to the mainland in 1914 by filling in the intervening space. ...
, the former
Coconut Grove Playhouse
The Coconut Grove Playhouse was a theatre in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. The building was originally constructed as a movie theater called the Player's State Theater. It opened on January 3, 1927, as a part of ...
,
CocoWalk
CocoWalk is an open-air shopping mall in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida
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 ...
, and the
Coconut Grove Convention Center
The Coconut Grove Convention Center (formerly the Dinner Key Auditorium, also known as the Coconut Grove Expo Center), was an indoor arena and exhibition hall in Miami, Florida. It originally had been built as a hangar at International Pan Americ ...
. It is also home to many
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
s, bars, restaurants, and
bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
shops, which makes it very popular with local
college student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...
s. Coconut Grove is known for its many parks and gardens, such as
Vizcaya Museum,
The Kampong
The Kampong is open by advance reservation to visitors Tuesday through Friday and is a 9-acre botanical garden in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Bo ...
,
The Barnacle Historic State Park
The Barnacle Historic State Park is a Florida State Parks, Florida State Park in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida at 3485 Main Highway.
Built in 1891, it is the oldest house in its original location in Miami-Dade County. The Bar ...
, and numerous other historic homes and estates.
The western side of Miami includes the neighborhoods of
Little Havana
Little Havana ( es, Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), capita ...
,
West Flagler
West Flagler (formerly West Little Havana) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States, bisected by Flagler Street. It is roughly located north of the Tamiami Trail (US 41/South Eighth Street) and south of North Seventh Street, between St ...
, and
Flagami
Flagami is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States, roughly defined as south and east of the Tamiami Canal, north of the Tamiami Trail (US 41/South Eighth Street), and west of Red Road ( SR 959/West 57th Avenue), bisected by Flagler Stree ...
. Although at one time a mostly Jewish neighborhood, today western Miami is home to immigrants from mostly Central America and
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 ...
, while the west central neighborhood of
Allapattah
Allapattah is a neighborhood, located mostly in the city of Miami, Florida in metropolitan Miami. , the county-owned portion of Allapattah, from State Road 9 to LeJeune Road, is being annexed by the city proper.
A stretch in the neighborhood al ...
is a multicultural community of many ethnicities.
The northern side of Miami includes
Midtown, a district with a great mix of diversity ranging from
West Indians
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
to
Hispanics
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...
to
European Americans
European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent Eu ...
. The
Edgewater neighborhood of Midtown is mostly composed of high-rise residential towers and is home to the
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States.
The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building const ...
.
Wynwood
Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Wynwood is known for being an entertainment district, with artwork, restaurants, breweries, clothing stores, dance venues, among other retail options. Formerly an industrial district, the area is now ...
is an art district with ten galleries in former warehouses, as well as a large outdoor mural project. The wealthier residents of Miami usually live in the
Design District and the
Upper Eastside
The Upper Eastside (alternatively called East Side and commonly referred to as Northeast Miami) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. It is north of Edgewater, east of Little Haiti, south of the village of Miami Shores, and sits on Biscayne Bay. ...
, which has many 1920s homes as well as examples of
Miami Modern architecture in the MiMo Historic District. The northern side of Miami also has notable African-American and
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
immigrant communities, including
Little Haiti
Little Haiti (french: La Petite Haïti, ht, Ti Ayiti), is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It is known historically as Lemon City, Little River and Edison. It is home to Haitian immigrant residents, as well as residents from the ...
,
Overtown (home of the
Lyric Theater), and
Liberty City.
Climate
![Miamisummershower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Miamisummershower.png)
Miami has a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Am'')
with hot and wet summers and warm and dry winters.
The city's sea-level elevation, coastal location, position just above the
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...
, and proximity to the
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...
shape its climate. Average winter high temperatures, from December to March, range from . January is the coolest month with an average daily temperature of . Low temperatures fall below about 3 to 4 nights during the winter season, after the passage of
cold front
A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Norther ...
s that produce what little rainfall that falls in the winter.
There are two basic seasons in Miami, a hot and wet season from May through October, and a warm and dry season from November through April. During the hot and wet season, daily thundershowers occur in the humid unstable air masses. The wet season in Miami is defined as the period during which the average daily
dew point
The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
temperature is above . The rainy season typically begins on the first day that occurs, or within a few days later. Similarly, daily rainfall in Miami decreases sharply when the average daily dew point falls to or below, although in some years, a stalled front to the south of the Florida peninsula may cause rains to continue for a few more days. During the years 1956 to 1997, the date summer began ranged from April 16 to June 3, with a median date of May 21. During those same years, the date summer ended ranged from September 24 to November 1, with a median date of October 17. During the summer, temperatures range from the mid-80s to low 90s °F (29–35 °C) and are accompanied by high humidity, though the heat is often relieved in the afternoon by thunderstorms or a
sea breeze
A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...
that develops off the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the year's of rainfall occurs during this period.
Dew point
The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
s in the warm months range from in June to in August.
[
Extremes range from on February 3, 1917, to on July 21, 1942. While Miami has never recorded snowfall at any official weather station since records have been kept, ]snow flurries
A snow flurry is a light snowfall that results in little or no snow accumulation. The US National Weather Service defines snow flurries as intermittent light snow that produces no measurable precipitation (trace amounts). In contrast, bursts of s ...
fell in some parts of the city on January 19, 1977. The coldest daytime maximum temperature on record is in 1989, while the coldest maximum temperature average between 1991 and 2020 stood at .[ The warmest overnight low measured is on several occasions.][ The stability of summer overnight lows is underlined by the mean maximum annual overnight low is just one degree lower.][
Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30, although hurricanes can develop beyond those dates. The most likely time for Miami to be hit is during the peak of the ]Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
season, which is mid-August through the end of September. Although tornadoes are uncommon in the area, one struck in 1925 and another in 1997. Around 40% of homes in Miami are built upon floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s and are considered as flood-risk zones.
Miami falls under the Department of Agriculture's 10b/11a plant hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
.
Miami is one of the major coastal cities and major cities in the United States that will be most affected by climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. Globally, it is one of the most at-risk cities as well, according to a 2020 report by Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1952 that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in ...
. Global sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
, which in Miami is projected to be to by 2070, will lead to an increase in storm damage, more intense flooding, and will threaten the city's water supply. Other potential impacts of climate change include higher hurricane wind speeds and severe thunderstorms, which can bring about hail or tornadoes. Some protective efforts are in place, including nourishing beaches and adding protective barriers, raising buildings and roads that are vulnerable, and restoring natural habitats such as wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s. Miami Beach has invested $500 million to protect roads, buildings, and water systems. Real estate prices in Miami already reflect the increase in prices for real estate at a higher elevation within the city compared to real estate at a lower elevation.
Demographics
The city is home to less than one-thirteenth of the population of South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
. Miami is the 44th most populous city in the United States. 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 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
, which includes Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, has a population of 6.1 million people, ranking eighth in the United States.
In 1960, people of Hispanic origin made up about 5% of the population of Miami-Dade County. Between 1960 and 2000, Hispanics accounted for 90% of the population growth in the county, and their share of the county's population grew to more than 57% by 2000.
In 1970, the Census Bureau reported Miami's population as 45% Hispanic, 41.7% non-Hispanic white, and 22.7% black. Miami's explosive population growth has been driven by internal migration from other parts of the country, primarily up until the 1980s, as well as by immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, primarily from the 1960s to the 1990s. Today, immigration to Miami has continued and Miami's growth today is attributed greatly to its fast urbanization and high-rise construction, which has increased its inner city neighborhood population densities, such as in Downtown, Brickell, and Edgewater, where one area in Downtown alone saw a 2,069% increase in population in the 2010 Census. Miami is regarded as more of a multicultural mosaic, than it is a melting pot
The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...
, with residents still maintaining much of, or some of their cultural traits. The overall culture of Miami is heavily influenced by its large population from the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and South America.
Culture
Miami has a minority-majority
A majority-minority or minority-majority area is a term used to refer to a subdivision in which one or more racial, ethnic, and/or religious minorities (relative to the whole country's population) make up a majority of the local population.
Ter ...
population, as non-Hispanic whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
comprised only 11.5% of the total. As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the population of Miami was 65.4% White American
White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
(including White Hispanic
White Latin Americans, or European Latin Americans, are Latin Americans who are considered white, typically due to European descent. Latin American countries have often tolerated intermarriage between different ethnic groups since the beginning ...
), 16.0% black or African American, 1.3% Asian American, and the remainder belonged to other groups or was of mixed ancestry. The 2020 US Census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
reported that Hispanic or Latino
''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...
residents of any race made up 72.5% of Miami's population.
In 2010, 34.4% of city residents were of Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
origin, 15.8% had a Central American
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ce ...
background (7.2% Nicaraguan
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, 5.8% Honduran, 1.2% Salvadoran
Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...
, and 1.0% Guatemalan), 8.7% were of South American
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
descent (3.2% Colombian, 1.4% Venezuelan
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, 1.2% Peruvian
Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...
, 1.2% Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
, 1.0% Chilean and 0.7% Ecuadorian
Ecuadorians ( es, ecuatorianos) are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collect ...
), 4.0% had other Hispanic or Latino origins (0.5% Spaniard
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...
), 3.2% descended from Puerto Ricans
Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants.
Overview
The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...
, 2.4% were Dominican, and 1.5% had Mexican ancestry.
, 5.6% of city residents were West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
or Afro-Caribbean American
Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...
origin (4.4% Haitian, 0.4% Jamaican, 0.4% Bahamian, 0.1% British West Indian
The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Gre ...
, and 0.1% Trinidadian and Tobagonian
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, 0.1% Other or Unspecified West Indian), 3.0% were Black Hispanic
Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics ( es, Afrohispano, links=no), Afro-Latinos or Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. ...
s, and 0.4% were Subsaharan African origin.
, those of (non-Hispanic white) European ancestry accounted for 11.9% of Miami's population. Of the city's total population, 1.7% were German, 1.6% Italian, 1.4% Irish, 1.0% English, 0.8% French, 0.6% Russian, and 0.5% were Polish.[ Since the 1960s, there has been massive ]white flight
White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
with many non-Hispanic whites moving outside Miami due to the influx of immigrants settling in most parts of Miami.
, those of Asian ancestry accounted for 1.0% of Miami's population. Of the city's total population, 0.3% were Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
/Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th c ...
(1,206 people), 0.3% Chinese/Chinese Caribbean
Chinese Caribbeans (sometimes Sino-Caribbeans) are people of Han Chinese ethnic origin living in the Caribbean. There are small but significant populations of Chinese and their descendants in all countries of the Greater Antilles. They are all p ...
(1,804 people), 0.2% Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
(647 people), 0.1% were other Asian (433 people), 0.1% Japanese (245 people), 0.1% Korean (213 people), and 0.0% were Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
(125 people).[
In 2010, 1.9% of the population considered themselves to be of only American ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity),][ while 0.5% were of Arab ancestry, .][
According to a 2014 study by the ]Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
, Christianity is the most-practiced religion in Miami (68%), with 39% professing attendance at a variety of churches that could be considered Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, and 27% professing Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Followed by Judaism (9%); Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, and a variety of other religions have smaller followings; atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
or no self-identifying organized religious affiliation was practiced by 21%.
There has been a Norwegian Seamen's church
The Norwegian Church Abroad or ''The Norwegian Seamen’s Church'' ( no, Sjømannskirken) is a religious organisation serving Norwegians and other Scandinavians travelling abroad. Founded in 1864, The Norwegian Seamen’s Mission – Sjømannsmisjo ...
in Miami since the early 1980s. In November 2011, Crown Princess of Norway Mette-Marit opened a new building for the church. The church was built as a center for the 10,000 Scandinavians that live in Florida. Around 4,000 of them are Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
. The church is also an important place for the 150 Norwegians that work at Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
in Central Florida.
, a total of 74.7% of Miami's population age five and over spoke a language other than English at home; 66.3% of Miami residents spoke Spanish at home, 7.1% other Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, 0.9% Asian and Pacific Islander
Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian an ...
languages, and 0.7% other.
Other demographics
As of the 2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, 81.8% of people over age 25 were a high school graduate or higher, while 30.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher.
There were 1,074,685 housing units, of which 902,200 were households; 43.7% were married-couple families, 31.2% had a female householder with a family and no spouse, and 18.0% had a male householder with the same. The average family size was 3.3. 20.2% of people were under the age of 18, while 16.9% were over 65.
In 2020, 53.6% of the county's population was foreign-born, with 59% being naturalized American citizens.
About 14.9% of the population was below the poverty line at the census, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 20.8% of those aged 65 or over.
Economy
Miami is a major center of commerce and finance and boasts a strong international business
International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale.
It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or more ...
community. According to the 2020 ranking of world cities undertaken by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
(GaWC) based on the level of presence of global corporate service organizations, Miami is considered a Beta + level world city, along with Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, and Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, however according to the US census between the years 2015–2019, Miami lacks in terms of owner-occupied housing, computer and internet usage, education regarding bachelor's degree or higher, median household income, per capita income, while achieving higher percentage of persons in poverty. Miami has a Gross Metropolitan Product of $257 billion, ranking 11th in the United States and 20th worldwide in GMP.
Several large companies are headquartered in Miami, including but not limited to Akerman LLP
Akerman LLP is a law firm based in Miami, Florida that was founded in 1920. Scott Meyers is the chairman and CEO. , Alienware
Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidiary of Dell. Their product range is dedicated to gaming computers which can be identified by their alien-themed designs. Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila, and is ...
, Arquitectonica
Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and urban planning design firm headquartered in Miami, Florida’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. The firm also has offices in ten other cities throughout ...
, Brightstar Corporation
Likewize (formerly Brightstar Corp.) is an American privately held corporation founded in 1997. It provides global wireless distribution and services, serving mobile device manufacturers, wireless operators and retailers. Likewize offers device and ...
, Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 19 ...
, Carnival Corporation
Carnival is a Catholic Church, Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgy, liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (o ...
, Duany Plater-Zyberk, Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States.
The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...
, Inktel Direct
Inktel is a global outsourcer of business services and direct marketing services, including fulfillment (as well as inventory management and order processing) and call center services, but also including other services such as direct mail/Letter ...
, Lennar Corporation
Lennar Corporation is a home construction company based in the census-designated place of Fontainebleau, Florida, with a Miami postal address. In 2021, the company was the second-largest home construction company in the United States based on the ...
, Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...
, Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises is a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, that operates six cruise ships on worldwide itineraries. It typically offers cruises that last between 10 and 14 days, but is also known for its long cruises lasting up to 195 days. The ...
, OPKO Health
OPKO Health is a medical test and medication company focused on diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. The company is a publicly traded company on NASDAQ and TASE
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE; ; colloquially known as The Bursa, ) is Israe ...
, Parkjockey
ParkJockey is an American parking revenue and access control startup that allows the real estate owners or operators to streamline parking operations using smart software and hardware technologies and data APIs. On the consumer-facing front, the ...
, RCTV International
RCTV International (formerly known as Coral Pictures or Coral International) is a subsidiary of Empresas 1BC. It was formed in Miami, Florida in 1982 as Coral Pictures to be the international distributor of RCTV's productions.
In 1986, the comp ...
, Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flori ...
, Sitel
Sitel Group is a privately owned contact center company headquartered in Miami, Florida. It provides outsourced sales, technical support, customer service, and other business processes for large companies. The company has 160,000 employees an ...
, Southern Wine & Spirits
Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, LLC is the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States with operations in 44 states and Washington, D.C. Its portfolio is 45% wine and 55% spirits. It was the 10th largest private company in the ...
, Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
, Vector Group
Vector Group Ltd. is an American diversified holding company with two major businesses: Liggett Group LLC (tobacco) and New Valley LLC (real estate), including Douglas Elliman.
Bennett S. LeBow founded Vector Group in 1986. Since then, he ha ...
, Watsco
Watsco, Inc. is the largest distributor of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies (HVAC/R) in the United States. Watsco was founded more than 60 years ago as a manufacturer of parts, components, and ...
and World Fuel Services
World Fuel Services Corporation (WFS, World Fuel) is an energy, commodities, and services company based in Doral, Florida. The company ranked No. 91 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations. WFS focuses on the mark ...
. Over 1,400 multinational firms are located in Miami, with many major global organisations headquartering their Latin American operations (or regional offices) in the city including Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
. Additionally, companies based in nearby cities or unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
include, Benihana
is an American restaurant company founded by Hiroaki Aoki in New York City in 1964 and currently based in Aventura, Florida. It owns or franchises 116 Japanese-influenced restaurants around the world, including its flagship Benihana Teppanya ...
, Burger King
Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...
, Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel (ship), funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue colo ...
, Navarro Discount Pharmacies
Navarro Discount Pharmacies, Inc., frequently referred to as Navarro is a pharmacy chain, photo service, and pharmacy benefit manager in the United States. The company was acquired by CVS Health in September, 2014 and is operated as a separa ...
, Perry Ellis International
Perry Ellis International is an American clothing, fashion, cosmetics and beauty company that includes a portfolio of brands distributed through multiple channels worldwide. The company focuses primarily on sportswear and casual clothing for nic ...
, Ryder
Ryder System, Inc., commonly known as Ryder, is an American transportation and logistics company. It is especially known for its fleet of commercial rental trucks.
Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management, and transp ...
, Sedano's
Sedano's Supermarkets is the nation's largest Hispanic retailer and largest Hispanic-owned supermarket chain. With headquarters in Miami-Dade County. Sedano's employs approximately 3,000 associates and operates 35 stores across Florida in Miami-D ...
, UniMás
UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
, and U.S. Century Bank.
Miami is a major television production center, and the most important city in the United States for Spanish language media. Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
and UniMás
UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
have their headquarters in the Miami area. Univisión Studios and Telemundo Studios
Telemundo Studios, formerly known as Telemundo Television Studios, is a division of NBCUniversal that develops original programming in Spanish.
History
After these agreements, Patricio Wills, former president of Telemundo-RTI, pass to be the pers ...
produce much of the original programming for their respective parent networks, such as telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
s, news, sports, and talk shows. In 2011, 85% of Telemundo's original programming was filmed in Miami. Miami is also a significant music recording center, with the Sony Music Latin
Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music.
History
In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with C ...
headquarters in the city, along with many other smaller record labels. The city also attracts many artists for music video and film shoots.
During the mid-2000s, the city witnessed its largest real estate boom since the Florida land boom of the 1920s
The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...
, and the city had well over a hundred approved high-rise construction projects. However, only 50 were actually built. Rapid high-rise construction led to fast population growth in the Miami's inner neighborhoods, with Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
, Brickell
Brickell ( ) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida located directly east of Interstate 95, south of the historic CBD, and north of Coconut Grove. Brickell is known as the financial district in Miami, as well as South Florida.
Brickell was founded ...
and Edgewater becoming the fastest-growing areas of the city. The city currently has the seven tallest (as well as fifteen of top twenty) skyscrapers in the state of Florida, with the tallest being the Panorama Tower
Panorama Tower is a mixed-use 85-story skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. Located in the Brickell district of Downtown Miami, it is the tallest building in Miami, and the tallest building in Florida.
Construction on Panorama Tower w ...
.
The housing market crash of 2007 caused a foreclosure crisis in the area. Like other metro areas in the United States, crime in Miami is localized to specific neighborhoods. In a 2016 study by the website ''24/7 Wall Street'', Miami was rated as the worst U.S. city in which to live, based on crime, poverty, income inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...
, education, and housing costs that far exceed the national median.
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
(MIA) and PortMiami
The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the ...
are among the nation's busiest ports of entry, especially for cargo from South America and the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. PortMiami is the world's busiest cruise port, and MIA is the busiest airport in Florida and the largest gateway between the United States and Latin America. Due to its strength in international business, finance and trade, the city has among the largest concentration of international banks in the country, primarily along Brickell Avenue
Brickell Avenue is a north–south road that was formerly part of U.S. Route 1, in Miami, Florida, just south of the Miami River. North of the Brickell Avenue Bridge, U.S. Route 1 is known as Biscayne Boulevard. Brickell Avenue is the main road ...
in Brickell
Brickell ( ) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida located directly east of Interstate 95, south of the historic CBD, and north of Coconut Grove. Brickell is known as the financial district in Miami, as well as South Florida.
Brickell was founded ...
, Miami's financial district. Miami was the host city of the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas
The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas, excluding Cuba. Negotiations to establish the FTAA ended in failure, however, with all parties unab ...
negotiations.
Miami is the home to the National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
and the headquarters of the United States Southern Command
The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida, Doral, Florida in Greater Miami, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingen ...
, responsible for military operations in Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and South America. Miami is also an industrial center, especially for stone quarrying and warehousing. These industries are centered largely on the western fringes of the city near Doral and Hialeah
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Mi ...
.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
in 2012, Miami had the fourth highest percentage of family incomes below the federal poverty line out of all large cities in the United States, behind Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, respectively. Miami is also one of the very few cities in the U.S. where the local government has gone bankrupt, in 2001.
The Little Fire Ant (''Wasmannia auropunctata
The little fire ant (''Wasmannia auropunctata''), also known as the electric ant, is a small (approx long), light to golden brown (ginger) social ant native to Central and South America, now spread to parts of Africa (including Gabon and Camero ...
'') is an invasive agricultural pest
A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...
here.
PortMiami
Miami is home to one of the largest ports in the United States, the PortMiami
The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the ...
. It is the largest cruise ship port in the world, and is often called the "Cruise Capital of the World" and the "Cargo Gateway of the Americas". It has retained its status as the number one cruise/passenger port in the world for well over a decade, accommodating the largest cruise ships and the major cruise lines. In 2017, the port served 5,340,559 cruise passengers. Additionally, the port is one of the nation's busiest cargo ports, importing 9,162,340 tons of cargo in 2017.[ Among North American ports, it ranks second to ' ]Port of South Louisiana
The Port of South Louisiana (french: Port de la Louisiane du Sud) extends 54 miles (87 km) along the Mississippi River between New Orleans, Louisiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, centering approximately at LaPlace, Louisiana, which serves as t ...
in cargo tonnage imported from Latin America. The port sits on and has seven passenger terminals. China is the port's number one import country and number one export country. Miami has the world's largest amount of cruise line headquarters, home to Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel (ship), funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue colo ...
, Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 19 ...
, Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...
, Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises is a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, that operates six cruise ships on worldwide itineraries. It typically offers cruises that last between 10 and 14 days, but is also known for its long cruises lasting up to 195 days. The ...
, and Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flori ...
. In 2014, the Port of Miami Tunnel
The Port of Miami Tunnel (also State Road 887) is a Tunnel#Boring machines, bored, undersea tunnel in Miami, Florida. It consists of two parallel tunnels (one in each direction) that travel beneath Biscayne Bay, connecting the MacArthur Causew ...
was opened, connecting the MacArthur Causeway
The General Douglas MacArthur Causeway is a six-lane causeway that connects Downtown Miami to South Beach via Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County.
The highway is the singular roadway connecting the mainland and beaches to Watson Island and the ba ...
to PortMiami.
Tourism and conventions
Tourism is one of the Miami's largest private-sector industries, accounting for more than 144,800 jobs in Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
. The city's frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. In 2016, it attracted the second-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States, after New York City, and is among the top 20 cities worldwide by international visitor spending. More than 15.9 million visitors arrived in Miami in 2017, adding $26.1 billion to the economy. With a large hotel infrastructure and the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center
The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015-2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhance ...
, Miami is a popular destination for annual conventions and conferences.
Some of the most popular tourist destinations in Miami include South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
, Lincoln Road, Bayside Marketplace
Bayside Marketplace is a two-story open air shopping center located in the downtown Miami, Florida. The banks of Biscayne Bay wrap around the property with the City of Miami marina at its side. It is recognized by the Greater Miami Convention & V ...
, Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...
, and Brickell City Centre
Brickell City Centre is a large mixed-use complex consisting of two residential high-rise towers, two office buildings, a high-rise hotel, and an interconnected five-story shopping mall and lifestyle center covering located in the Brickell dis ...
. The Art Deco District in Miami Beach
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
is reputed as one of the most glamorous in the world for its nightclubs
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
, beaches, historical buildings, and shopping. Annual events such as the Miami Open, Art Basel
Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...
, the Winter Music Conference
The Winter Music Conference (WMC) is a week-long electronic music conference, held every March in Miami Beach, Florida, United States since 1985. It is also known as the premiere platform for electronic dance music. The conference brings togethe ...
, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami is an annual fashion week held in Miami, Florida, United States. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, not to be confused with Miami Fashion Week, is held every year during the Summer at the Raleigh Hotel at 1775 Collin ...
attract millions to the metropolis every year.
Culture
Miami enjoys a vibrant culture that is influenced by a diverse population from all around the world. Miami is known as the "Magic City" for seemingly popping up overnight due to its young age, massive growth, and its aesthetics of neon art deco. The city itself is infamous for its drug war in the early 1980s and its outrun aesthetics. It is also nicknamed the "Capital of Latin America" because of its high population of Spanish-speakers.
Miami has been the setting of numerous films and television shows, including ''Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...
'', ''Cocaine Cowboys
''Cocaine Cowboys'' is a 2006 documentary film directed by Billy Corben, and produced by Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben through their Miami-based media studio Rakontur. The film explores the rise of cocaine dealer Jon Roberts, described by pros ...
'', ''Burn Notice
''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, ...
'', ''Jane the Virgin
''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telen ...
'', ''Scarface'', ''The Birdcage
''The Birdcage'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, adapted by Elaine May, and starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, and Dianne Wiest. Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski app ...
'', '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', ''The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...
'', ''2 Fast 2 Furious
''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, from a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to ''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001), and is t ...
'', and ''Dexter
Dexter may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003
* Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
''. Several video games, including ''Hotline Miami
''Hotline Miami'' is a top-down shooter video game by Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin, collectively known as Dennaton Games. The game was published by Devolver Digital and released on 23 October 2012 for Microsoft Windows.
Set in 1989 Mia ...
'', the Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games m ...
racing game ''Asphalt Overdrive
Asphalt Overdrive is a 2014 endless running racing video game published by Gameloft and developed by their Madrid studio. The eleventh major game of ''Asphalt'' series. After a showcase in June 2014 at the E3 event, it was released in September ...
'', '' Scarface: The World Is Yours'', and the fictional Vice City
''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2001's ''Grand Theft Auto III'', and the s ...
in several video games across the ''Grand Theft Auto
''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...
'' series, most notably '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', is based on Miami.
Entertainment and performing arts
In addition to annual festivals like the Calle Ocho Festival
The Calle Ocho Music Festival (''Festival de la Calle Ocho'') is a one-day fiesta that culminates Carnaval Miami. It takes place in March in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida between SW 12th Avenue and 27th Avenue on SW 8th Street.
...
, Miami is home to many entertainment venues, theaters, museums, parks and performing arts centers. The newest addition to the Miami arts scene is the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States.
The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building const ...
, home of the Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...
and the second-largest performing arts center in the United States after Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
in New York City. The center attracts many large-scale operas, ballets, concerts, and musicals from around the world. Other performing arts venues in Miami include the Olympia Theater, Wertheim Performing Arts Center The Wertheim Performing Arts Center (also known by the abbreviation WPAC, full name The Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center) is a performing arts center that opened in 1996. Situated on the main campus of Florida International Univers ...
, the Fair Expo Center
The Fair Expo Center is a convention center located in Miami, Florida, adjacent to the campus of Florida International University. It has been built in stages since 1952. The center's main entrance features four meeting rooms totaling of space. ...
, the Tower Theater, and the Bayfront Park Amphitheater.
Another celebrated event is the Miami International Film Festival
The Miami Film Festival (formerly Miami International Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Miami, Florida, that showcases independent American and international films with a special focus on Ibero-American films. The competitive film fest ...
, taking place every year for 10 days around the first week of March, during which independent international and American films are screened across the city. Miami has over a half dozen independent film theaters.
Miami attracts a large number of musicians, singers, actors, dancers, and orchestral players. The city has numerous orchestras, symphonies and performing art conservatories. These include the Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...
, FIU School of Music, Frost School of Music
Frost School of Music is the music school at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. From 1926 to 2003, it was known as University of Miami School of Music.
Academics and programs
The University of Miami's Frost School of Music was on ...
, and the New World School of the Arts
New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising prog ...
.
Miami is also a major fashion center, home to models and some of the top modeling agencies in the world. The city is host to many fashion shows and events, including the annual Miami Fashion Week
Miami Fashion Week (MIAFW) is an annual fashion week held in Miami, Florida, United States. Miami Fashion Week, not to be confused with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami or Miami Swim Week, takes place every year the first week of June. Miami ...
and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami is an annual fashion week held in Miami, Florida, United States. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, not to be confused with Miami Fashion Week, is held every year during the Summer at the Raleigh Hotel at 1775 Collin ...
, held in the Wynwood Art District
The Wynwood Art District is a district of the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, Florida. It is home to over 10 galleries, museums and collections and is known for its street art. It is roughly bounded by North 36th Street (US 27) (north), North 20th ...
.
Miami will be having their first boat-in movie theater on Saturday, July 25, 2020.
Museums and visual arts
Some of the museums in Miami include the Frost Art Museum
The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum (Frost Art Museum) is an art museum located in the Modesto A. Maidique campus of Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida. It was founded in 1977 as 'The Art Museum at Florida Internatio ...
, Frost Museum of Science, HistoryMiami
HistoryMiami Museum, formerly known as the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, is a museum located in Downtown Miami, Florida, United States. HistoryMiami Museum is the largest history museum in the State of Florida. HistoryMiami houses four per ...
, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami Children's Museum
The Miami Children’s Museum is a non-profit educational institution located on Watson Island in the city of Miami, Florida.
About the museum
Founded in 1983, the museum opened its current building on Watson Island to the public on September ...
, Pérez Art Museum, Lowe Art Museum
Lowe Art Museum is the art museum of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The museum is located on the campus of the University of Miami and is accessible by Miami Metrorail at University Station.
Lowe Art Museum's comprehensive col ...
, and the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and Estate (land), estate of businessperson, businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the presen ...
, a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
set on a 28-acre early 20th century estate in Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...
.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Miami is a reflection of its diverse population, with a heavy influence from Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and Latin American cuisine
Latin American cuisine is the typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America. Latin America is a highly diverse area of land whose nations have varying cuisines. Some items typical o ...
. By combining the two with American cuisine
American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, indigenous Native Americans, Africans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures an ...
, it has spawned a unique South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
style of cooking known as Floribbean cuisine
The arrival of several waves of Hispanic, and other Caribbean, immigrants to Florida since the late 1800s has played an important role in the development of Floribbean cuisine. The use of seafood, as well as of Asian and Caribbean ingredients and ...
. It is widely available throughout Miami and South Florida and can be found in restaurant chains such as Pollo Tropical
Pollo Tropical (Spanish language, Spanish for "Tropical Chicken") is a South Florida-based restaurant chain and Franchising, franchise specializing in food inspired by Latin-American, Latin-Caribbean cuisine. Founded in 1988, the chain has its h ...
.
Cuban immigrants in the 1960s originated the Cuban sandwich
A Cuban sandwich ( es, link=no, Sándwich cubano) is a variation of a ham and cheese sandwich that likely originated in cafes catering to Cuban workers in Tampa
or Key West,[medianoche
Medianoche (; Spanish for "midnight") is a type of sandwich which originated in Cuba. It is served in many Cuban communities in the United States. It is so named because of the sandwich's popularity as a staple served in Havana's night clubs rig ...]
, Cuban espresso
Café Cubano (also known as Cuban espresso, Colada, Cuban coffee, cafecito, Cuban pull, and Cuban shot) is a type of espresso that originated in Cuba. Specifically, it refers to an espresso shot which is sweetened (traditionally with natural br ...
, Bistec de palomilla
Bistec de palomilla (meaning "butterflying, butterflied beefsteak") is a Cuban cuisine, Cuban dish consisting of beef round steak, round or Cube steak, cubed steak marinated in garlic, lime juice, salt and black pepper, pepper then pan-Frying, fr ...
, and croquetas, all of which have grown in popularity among all Miamians and have become symbols of the city's varied cuisine. Today, these are part of the local culture and can be found throughout the city at window cafés, particularly outside of supermarkets and restaurants. Some of these locations, such as the Versailles restaurant
Versailles cafeteria, restaurant, and bakery is a landmark eating establishment located on Calle Ocho (8th St
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors be ...
in Little Havana
Little Havana ( es, Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), capita ...
, are landmark eateries of Miami. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, and with a long history as a seaport
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
, Miami is also known for its seafood, with many seafood restaurants located along the Miami River and in and around Biscayne Bay. The city is also the headquarters of restaurant chains such as Burger King
Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...
and Benihana
is an American restaurant company founded by Hiroaki Aoki in New York City in 1964 and currently based in Aventura, Florida. It owns or franchises 116 Japanese-influenced restaurants around the world, including its flagship Benihana Teppanya ...
.
Dialect
The Miami area has a unique dialect, commonly called the "Miami accent
The Miami accent is an evolving American English accent or sociolect spoken in South Florida, particularly in Miami-Dade county, originating from central Miami. The Miami accent is most prevalent in American-born Hispanic youth who live in the Gr ...
", that is widely spoken. The accent developed among second- or third-generation Hispanics
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...
, including Cuban Americans
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
, whose first language was English (though some non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
, black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
, and other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
who were born and raised in the Miami area tend to adopt it as well). It is based on a fairly standard American accent but with some changes, very similar to dialects in the Mid-Atlantic (especially those in the New York area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...
and Northern New Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrativ ...
, including New York Latino English
The English language as primarily spoken by Hispanic Americans on the East Coast of the United States demonstrates considerable influence from New York City English and African-American Vernacular English, with certain additional features borrowed ...
). Unlike Virginia Piedmont
The Piedmont region of Virginia is a part of the greater Piedmont physiographic region which stretches from the falls of the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region runs across the middle of the state from ...
, Coastal Southern American, Northeast American dialects and Florida Cracker
Florida crackers were colonial-era British and American pioneer settlers in what is now the U.S. state of Florida; the term is also applied to their descendants, to the present day, and their subculture among white Southerners. The first cracker ...
dialect, "Miami accent" is rhotic; it also incorporates a rhythm and pronunciation heavily influenced by Spanish (wherein rhythm is syllable-timed
Isochrony is the postulated rhythmic division of time into equal portions by a language. Rhythm is an aspect of prosody, others being intonation, stress, and tempo of speech.
Three alternative ways in which a language can divide time are postula ...
).
This is a native dialect of English, not learner English or interlanguage
An interlanguage is an idiolect that has been developed by a learner of a second language (L2) which preserves some features of their first language (L1), and can also overgeneralize some L2 writing and speaking rules. These two characteristics ...
; it is possible to differentiate this variety from an interlanguage
An interlanguage is an idiolect that has been developed by a learner of a second language (L2) which preserves some features of their first language (L1), and can also overgeneralize some L2 writing and speaking rules. These two characteristics ...
spoken by second-language speakers in that the "Miami accent" does ''not'' generally display the following features: there is no addition
Addition (usually signified by the Plus and minus signs#Plus sign, plus symbol ) is one of the four basic Operation (mathematics), operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication and Division (mathematics), division. ...
of before initial consonant clusters with , speakers do not confuse of with , (e.g., ''Yale'' with ''jail''), and /r/ and /rr/ are pronounced as alveolar approximant /nowiki>">/nowiki>/nowiki> instead of alveolar tap Alveolus (; pl. alveoli, adj. alveolar) is a general anatomical term for a concave cavity or pit.
Uses in anatomy and zoology
* Pulmonary alveolus, an air sac in the lungs
** Alveolar cell or pneumocyte
** Alveolar duct
** Alveolar macrophage
* M ...
or alveolar trill
The voiced alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar trills is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r. ...
in Spanish.
Sports
Miami's main five sports teams are Inter Miami CF
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2020 ...
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS), 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 pla ...
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 ...
(NFL), the Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...
of the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA), 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 franc ...
of 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), ...
(MLB), and the Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
of the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). The Miami Open, an annual tennis tournament, was previously held in Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sout ...
before moving to 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 college ...
after the tournament was purchased by 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 pla ...
owner Stephen Ross in 2019. The city is home to numerous marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
s, jai alai
Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also oft ...
venues, and golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
s. The city streets have hosted professional auto races in the past, most notably the open-wheel Grand Prix of Miami, the sports car Grand Prix of Miami, and 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 Gra ...
of 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, ...
. The Homestead-Miami Speedway oval hosts NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
races.
The Heat and the Marlins play within Miami's city limits, at the FTX Arena
FTX Arena (known as American Airlines Arena from 1999 to 2021) is a multi-purpose arena located in Miami, Florida, along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and designed by the architecture fir ...
in Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
and LoanDepot Park
LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on the site of the former Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana about west of Downtown Miami. Const ...
in Little Havana
Little Havana ( es, Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), capita ...
, respectively. Marlins Park is built on the site of the old Miami Orange Bowl
The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Downtown Miami. The Miami Orange Bowl was considered a landmark and served as the ho ...
stadium.
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 pla ...
play at 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 college ...
in suburban Miami Gardens
Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. 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 ...
, while the Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
play in nearby 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
Al ...
at the FLA Live Arena
FLA Live Arena (previously known as the National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center, BankAtlantic Center, and BB&T Center) is an indoor arena located next to Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida. It is the home venue for the Florida Panthers o ...
. Inter Miami CF
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2020 ...
plays at DRV PNK Stadium
DRV PNK Stadium (pronounced as Drive Pink Stadium, formerly Inter Miami CF Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Built on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium, the 18,000-seat stadium is the home pitch of Inter Mia ...
in nearby Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, temporarily until a stadium is built in Miami.
The 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 th ...
, one of the major bowl games in the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
of the NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, is played at Hard Rock Stadium every winter. The stadium has also hosted the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
; the Miami metro area has hosted the game a total of ten times (five times at the current Hard Rock Stadium and five at the Miami Orange Bowl
The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Downtown Miami. The Miami Orange Bowl was considered a landmark and served as the ho ...
), tying New Orleans for the most games.
Miami is also the home of many college sports teams. The two largest are 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, incl ...
Hurricanes
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
, whose football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
plays at 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 college ...
and Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
Panthers
Panther may refer to:
Large cats
*Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis''
**''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards.
***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...
, whose football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
plays at Ricardo Silva Stadium. The Hurricanes compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
(ACC), while the Panthers compete in the Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
.
Miami is also home to Paso Fino
The Paso Fino is a naturally gaited light horse breed dating back to horses imported to the Caribbean from Spain. Pasos are prized for their smooth, natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait; they are used in many disciplines, but are especially ...
horses, and competitions are held at Tropical Park Equestrian Center.
The following are the major professional sports teams in the Miami metropolitan area:
Beaches and parks
The City of Miami has various lands operated by the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, the Florida Division of Recreation and Parks, and the City of Miami Department of Parks and Recreation.
Miami's tropical weather allows for year-round outdoor activities. The city has numerous marinas, rivers, bays, canals, and the Atlantic Ocean, which make boating, canoeing, sailing, and fishing popular outdoor activities. Biscayne Bay has numerous coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
s that make snorkeling
Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a ...
and scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
popular. There are over 80 parks and gardens in the city. The largest and most popular parks are Bayfront Park
Bayfront Park is a public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay. The Chairman to the trust is Ary Shaeban. Located in the park is a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus sculpted by Count Vittorio di Colbertaldo of Verona, one ...
and Museum Park (located in the heart of Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
and the location of the FTX Arena
FTX Arena (known as American Airlines Arena from 1999 to 2021) is a multi-purpose arena located in Miami, Florida, along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and designed by the architecture fir ...
and Bayside Marketplace
Bayside Marketplace is a two-story open air shopping center located in the downtown Miami, Florida. The banks of Biscayne Bay wrap around the property with the City of Miami marina at its side. It is recognized by the Greater Miami Convention & V ...
), Tropical Park
Tropical Park is a urban park in metropolitan Miami, Florida. The park is located just southwest of the intersection of the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) and Bird Road, just west of South Miami.
History
The land opened as a county public par ...
, Peacock Park
Peacock Park is a public, urban park where Indian peacocks roam in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida on the shore of Biscayne Bay.
History
Among the first permanent settlers in South Florida were grocers Charles and Isabella Pe ...
, Virginia Key
Virginia Key is an barrier island in Miami, Florida. It is located in Biscayne Bay south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne and is accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway.
The island is mainly occupied by the Virginia Key ...
, and Watson Island
Watson Island is a neighborhood and man-made island in Biscayne Bay, in Miami, Florida. It is located Immediately east of the Central Business District and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods of downtown Miami and is connected to the ma ...
.
Other popular cultural destinations in or near Miami include Zoo Miami
The Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, also known as Zoo Miami, is a zoological park and garden near Miami and is the largest zoo in Florida. Originally established in 1948 at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Zoo Miami relocated in 1980 as Miami ...
, Jungle Island
Jungle Island, formerly Parrot Jungle, is a relaunched eco-adventure park on Watson Island, Miami, Florida, United States. The park is re-opened following a series of major renovations after the park incurred damage from Hurricane Irma. The park ...
, the Miami Seaquarium
The Miami Seaquarium is a oceanarium located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida located near downtown Miami.
Founded in 1955, it is one of the oldest oceanariums in the United States. In addition to marin ...
, Monkey Jungle
Monkey Jungle is a zoological park located in Miami, Florida. Established in 1933 by Joseph DuMond for the exhibition and study of endangered monkeys in semi-natural habitats after releasing 6 Java Monkeys into a subtropical forest, the park is no ...
, Coral Castle
Coral Castle is an oolite limestone structure created by the Latvian-American eccentric Edward Leedskalnin (1887–1951). It is located in Unincorporated area, unincorporated territory of Miami-Dade County, Florida, between the cities of Homeste ...
, Charles Deering Estate
Charles Deering Estate (also known as Deering Estate at Cutler) was the Florida home of Charles Deering until 1927 when he died at the estate.
Description
Deering lived on the , Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, just south of Miami, s ...
, and Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sout ...
.
In its 2020 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
reported that the park system in the City of Miami was the 64th best park system among the 100 most populous US cities, down slightly from 48th place in the 2017 ranking. The City of Miami was analyzed to have a median park size of 2.6 acres, park land as percent of city area of 6.5%, 87% of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park, $48.39 spending per capita of park services, and 1.3 playgrounds per 10,000 residents.
Law and government
The government of the City of Miami uses the mayor-commissioner type of system. The city commission consists of five commissioners that are elected from single member districts. The city commission constitutes the governing body with powers to pass ordinances, adopt regulations, and exercise all powers conferred upon the city in the city charter. The mayor is elected at large and appoints a city manager. The City of Miami is governed by Mayor Francis X. Suarez and 5 city commissioners that oversee the five districts in the city. The commission's regular meetings are held at Miami City Hall
Miami City Hall is the local government headquarters for the City of Miami, Florida. It has been located in the former Pan American Airlines Terminal Building on Dinner Key, which was designed by Delano & Aldrich and constructed in 1934 for ...
, which is located at 3500 Pan American Drive on Dinner Key
Dinner Key is a marina complex in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, along the shore of Biscayne Bay on South Bayshore Drive. It was originally an island, but was connected to the mainland in 1914 by filling in the intervening space. ...
in the neighborhood of Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...
. In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
, Miami is represented by Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Maria Elvira Salazar
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
and Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Frederica Wilson
Frederica Smith Wilson (born Frederica Patricia Smith, November 5, 1942) is an American politician who has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2011, representing . Located in South Florida, Wilson's congressional dis ...
.
City Commission
# Francis X. Suarez – Mayor of the City of Miami
* Alex Diaz de la Portilla
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...
– Miami Commissioner, District 1
::Allapattah
Allapattah is a neighborhood, located mostly in the city of Miami, Florida in metropolitan Miami. , the county-owned portion of Allapattah, from State Road 9 to LeJeune Road, is being annexed by the city proper.
A stretch in the neighborhood al ...
and Grapeland Heights
Grapeland Heights is a neighborhood in the city of Miami, Florida, United States. It is just east of Miami International Airport and north of Miami's West Flagler neighborhood. It is primarily a single-family residential neighborhood with a signif ...
* Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
– Miami Commissioner, District 2
::Arts & Entertainment District
The Arts & Entertainment District, or previously known as Omni, is a neighborhood of Downtown Miami, Florida. It is bound roughly by North 19th Street to the north, North 10th Street to the south, North East 2nd Avenue to the west, and Biscayne Bo ...
, Brickell
Brickell ( ) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida located directly east of Interstate 95, south of the historic CBD, and north of Coconut Grove. Brickell is known as the financial district in Miami, as well as South Florida.
Brickell was founded ...
, Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...
, Coral Way
Coral Way is a neighborhood within Miami, Florida that is defined by Coral Way, a road established by Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick during the 1920s. It is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The Coral Way neighborhood is served by ...
, Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...
, Edgewater, Midtown Miami
Midtown Miami is the collective term for the Wynwood and Edgewater neighborhoods of Miami, Florida. It is located north of Downtown and south of the Miami Design District and is roughly bound by North 20th Street to the south, I-195 to the nor ...
, Park West and the South part Upper Eastside
The Upper Eastside (alternatively called East Side and commonly referred to as Northeast Miami) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. It is north of Edgewater, east of Little Haiti, south of the village of Miami Shores, and sits on Biscayne Bay. ...
* Joe Carollo
Joe Carollo (born March 12, 1955) is a Cuban-American politician who served as mayor of Miami from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2001. Following his loss in the 2001 mayoral election, he served as Doral, Florida
Doral is a city in ...
– Miami Commissioner, District 3
::Coral Way
Coral Way is a neighborhood within Miami, Florida that is defined by Coral Way, a road established by Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick during the 1920s. It is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The Coral Way neighborhood is served by ...
, Little Havana
Little Havana ( es, Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), capita ...
and The Roads
The Roads is a neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is a triangular area located south of SW 11th Street, between SW 12th Avenue and SW 15th Road, just west of Brickell.
The Roads is known for its old homes, historic private ...
* Manolo Reyes – Miami Commissioner, District 4
::Coral Way
Coral Way is a neighborhood within Miami, Florida that is defined by Coral Way, a road established by Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick during the 1920s. It is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The Coral Way neighborhood is served by ...
, Flagami
Flagami is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States, roughly defined as south and east of the Tamiami Canal, north of the Tamiami Trail (US 41/South Eighth Street), and west of Red Road ( SR 959/West 57th Avenue), bisected by Flagler Stree ...
and West Flagler
West Flagler (formerly West Little Havana) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States, bisected by Flagler Street. It is roughly located north of the Tamiami Trail (US 41/South Eighth Street) and south of North Seventh Street, between St ...
* Christine King – Miami Commissioner, District 5
::Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:
Places Canada
*Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista”
*Buena Vista, Saskatchewan
*Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
, Design District, Liberty City, Little Haiti
Little Haiti (french: La Petite Haïti, ht, Ti Ayiti), is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It is known historically as Lemon City, Little River and Edison. It is home to Haitian immigrant residents, as well as residents from the ...
, Little River
Little River may refer to several places:
Australia Streams New South Wales
*Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River
* Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...
, Lummus Park, Overtown, Spring Garden and Wynwood
Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Wynwood is known for being an entertainment district, with artwork, restaurants, breweries, clothing stores, dance venues, among other retail options. Formerly an industrial district, the area is now ...
and northern part of the Upper Eastside
The Upper Eastside (alternatively called East Side and commonly referred to as Northeast Miami) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. It is north of Edgewater, east of Little Haiti, south of the village of Miami Shores, and sits on Biscayne Bay. ...
* Arthur Noriega – City Manager
* Victoria Méndez – City Attorney
* Todd B. Hannon – City Clerk
Education
Colleges and universities
Miami-Dade County has over 200,000 students enrolled in local colleges and universities, placing it seventh in the nation in per capita university enrollment. In 2010, the city's four largest colleges and universities, Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...
, Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
, 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, incl ...
, and Barry University
Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami ...
, graduated 28,000 students.
Miami is also home to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations that offer a range of professional training and other, related educational programs. ''Per'' Scholas, for example is a nonprofit organization that offers free professional certification training directed towards successfully passing CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associa ...
A+ and Network+ certification exams as a route to securing jobs and building careers.
Colleges and universities in and around Miami:
# Barry University
Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami ...
(private)
# Broward College
Broward College is a public college in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. It was established in 1959 as part of a move to broaden Florida's two-year colleges. In 2008 it adopted its current name, reflecting that ...
(public)
# Carlos Albizu University
Albizu University is a private university with its main campus in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a branch campus in Miami, Florida, and an additional instructional location in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It focuses on psychology, health, education, and huma ...
(private)
# Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...
(public)
# Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
(public)
# Florida Memorial University
Florida Memorial University is a private historically black university in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is a member of the United Negro College Fund and historically related to Baptists although it claims a focus on broader Christianity.
History
...
(private)
# Keiser University
Keiser University is a private university with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and flagship residential campus in West Palm Beach, Florida. Additional branches are located in other parts of Florida and internationally. Keiser provides ...
(private)
# Manchester Business School
Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. One of the most prestigious business schools in the United Kingdom, it is also the second oldest in the UK, and pro ...
(satellite location, UK public)
# Miami Culinary Institute
Miami Dade College (Wolfson Campus) is one of Miami Dade College’s eight campuses. The campus was opened in 1970, holding classes in storefronts in Downtown Miami, Florida. As the only comprehensive urban campus in the City of Miami, Wolfson Ca ...
(public)
# Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...
(public)
# Miami International University of Art & Design
Miami International University of Art & Design (formerly the International Fine Arts College) is a Private university, private, For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit art school in Miami, Florida. It is owned and operated by ...
(private)
# Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University (NSU or, informally, Nova) is a private nonprofit research university with its main campus in Davie, Florida. The university consists of 14 total colleges, centers, and schools offering over 150 programs of study. ...
(private)
# Palm Beach State College
Palm Beach State College is a public college in Lake Worth, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System.
Palm Beach State College enrolls nearly 27,000 students in over 100 programs of study including bachelor of applied science, associa ...
(public)
# St. Thomas University (private)
# Southeastern College
Southeastern College is a private institution of higher learning with campuses in Miami Lakes and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Southeastern College is institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) ...
(private)
# Talmudic University
Yeshiva V'Kollel Beis Moshe Chaim is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox yeshiva and a kollel located in Miami Beach, Florida. Its rosh yeshiva is Rabbi Yochanan Zweig, an alumnus of Ner Israel Rabbinical College. It is also known as the ''Talmudic Univ ...
(private)
# 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, incl ...
(private)
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools in Miami are governed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and, , the fourth la ...
, which is the largest school district in Florida and the fourth-largest in the United States. As of September 2008 it has a student enrollment of 385,655 and over 392 schools and centers. The district is also the largest minority public school system in the country, with 60% of its students being of Hispanic origin, 28% Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or West Indian American
Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...
, 10% White (non-Hispanic) and 2% non-white of other minorities.
Miami is home to some of the nation's best high schools, such as Design and Architecture High School
Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH) is a magnet secondary school in the heart of the Design District in Miami, Florida, United States. '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked DASH as the 15th best public high school in the nation in ...
, ranked the nation's best magnet school, MAST Academy
Maritime and Science Technology Academy, commonly referred to as MAST Academy, or MAST, is a public high school in Miami, Florida, on Virginia Key. MAST Academy is a magnet school under the governance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The scho ...
, Coral Reef High School
Coral Reef Senior High School is a secondary school located at 10101 S.W. 152nd Street in Richmond Heights, Florida, United States. The principal is Nicole Bergé-MacInnes. Coral Reef is locally known as "Miami's Mega Magnet School" since it of ...
, ranked 20th-best public high school in the U.S., Miami Palmetto High School
, motto_translation = Strength through knowledge
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public secondary
, status =
, category_label =
, category ...
, and the New World School of the Arts
New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising prog ...
. M-DCPS is also one of a few public school districts in the United States to offer optional bilingual education
In bilingual education, students are taught in two (or more) languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The t ...
in Spanish, French, German, Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...
, and Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
.
Miami is home to several well-known Roman Catholic, Jewish and non-denominational private schools. The Archdiocese of Miami
The Archdiocese of Miami ( la, Archidioecesis Miamiensis, es, Arquidiócesis de Miami, ht, Achidyosèz Miami) is a particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastical territory consists of Broward, Miami ...
operates the city's Catholic private schools, which include St. Hugh Catholic School, St. Agatha Catholic School, St. Theresa School, Immaculata-Lasalle High School, Monsignor Edward Pace High School
Monsignor Edward Pace High School is a Catholic secondary school in the Opa-locka North neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. It was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2002 and one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country in 2004 and 2005 ...
, Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School
Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School was a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Buena Vista neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It was located in and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.
On September 27, 2016, ...
, St. Brendan High School, among numerous other Catholic elementary and high schools.
Catholic preparatory schools operated by religious orders are Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, operated by the Society of Je ...
and Christopher Columbus High School for boys and Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart
Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic college preparatory day school for girls, founded in 1961 in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida.
Description
Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart was founded in 1961. Its oldest building, El Jardin ...
and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy
Our Lady of Lourdes Academy is a Catholic all-girls high school in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It has been managed by the Immaculate Heart of Mary since its 1963 foundation.
In 2006, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy was named one of t ...
for girls.
Non-denominational private schools in Miami are Ransom Everglades, Gulliver Preparatory School
Gulliver Preparatory School or simply Gulliver Prep, is a private co-educational school. Its management offices are in Kendall, a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Its four campuses are across the county.
Previously the ad ...
, and Miami Country Day School
Miami Country Day School (MCDS) is a private, non-denominational, co-ed Preschool–12 college preparatory school in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, near Miami Shores, just north of the city of Miami. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon Sch ...
. Other schools in the area include Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School
Scheck Hillel Community School, known prior to 2012 as the Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School, is a private, Jewish, co-ed pK–12 school in Ojus, Florida, with a North Miami Beach address. It is located adjacent to the Michael-Ann Russel J ...
, Dade Christian School
Dade Christian School is a private Christian school that enrolls kindergarten through 12th grade students in Miami, Florida.
DCS was founded as a segregation academy in response to the court-ordered desegregation of Miami-Dade public schools. It ...
, Palmer Trinity School
Palmer Trinity School is an independent, college-preparatory, coeducational Episcopal day school located on in Palmetto Bay, Florida (a Miami suburb). The school currently enrolls more than 770 students in grades 6–12.
Palmer Trinity is the ...
, Westminster Christian School, and Riviera Schools.
Supplementary education
The Miami Hoshuko
is a supplementary Japanese school in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It holds classes in the First Baptist Church of Coral Park ( es, Iglesia Bautista de Coral Park) in Westchester, and it has its office in Doral. , is a part-time Japanese school for Japanese citizens and ethnic Japanese people in the area. Previously it was located on Virginia Key
Virginia Key is an barrier island in Miami, Florida. It is located in Biscayne Bay south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne and is accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway.
The island is mainly occupied by the Virginia Key ...
, at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Currently the school holds classes in Westchester and has offices in Doral.["]
Media
Miami has one of the largest television markets in the nation and the second largest in the state of Florida after Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
. Miami has several major newspapers, the main and largest newspaper being ''The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.[El Nuevo Herald
''El Nuevo Herald'' is a newspaper published daily in Spanish in Southeast Florida, United States. Its headquarters is in Doral. ''El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is the ''Miami Herald'', also produced by the McClatchy Company.
About ''el Nuevo H ...]
'' is the major and largest Spanish-language newspaper. ''The Miami Herald'' and ''El Nuevo Herald'' are Miami's and South Florida's main, major and largest newspapers. The papers left their longtime home in Downtown Miami in 2013. The newspapers are now headquartered at the former home of U.S. Southern Command
The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida in Greater Miami, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, o ...
in Doral.
Other major newspapers include ''Miami Today
''Miami Today'' is a weekly newspaper headquartered in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida. The newspaper reports on business, government and civic life in Miami-Dade County commentating on the economy, real estate and development, ...
'', headquartered in Brickell, ''Miami New Times
The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District.
Overview
It was acquired by Village Voic ...
'', headquartered in Midtown, ''Miami SunPost
''The Miami SunPost'' was a free weekly community-style newspaper published in Miami, Florida, and distributed in a print edition and an on-line edition every Thursday. The paper covered local news, politics, business, culture, society, and the ar ...
'', ''South Florida Business Journal
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
'', and ''The Miami Times
''The Miami Times'' is South Florida's African-American newspaper
African-American newspapers (also known as the Black press or Black newspapers) are news publications in the United States serving African-American communities. Samuel Cornis ...
''. An additional Spanish-language newspaper, ''Diario Las Americas
Diario (Italian, Spanish "Diary") and ''El Diario'' (Spanish, "The Daily") may refer to:
Newspapers, periodicals and websites
* ''El Diario'' (Argentina)
* ''Diario'' (Aruba)
* ''El Diario'' (La Paz), Bolivia
* ''Diario Extra'' (Costa Rica)
*''Di ...
'' also serves Miami. Student newspapers from the local universities include 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, incl ...
's ''The Miami Hurricane
''The Miami Hurricane'' is the official student newspaper at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
Founded in 1929, ''The Miami Hurricane'' is published weekly each Tuesday with timely online updates daily by a staff of mostly undergr ...
'', Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
's '' The Beacon'', Miami-Dade College
Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...
's ''The Metropolis'', and Barry University
Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami ...
's ''The Buccaneer''.
A number of magazines circulate throughout the greater Miami area, including ''Miami Monthly
''Miami Monthly'' is Southeast Florida's city/regional magazine, publishing news and information on the people, politics, life, culture and style of the greater Miami area.
History
''Miami Monthly'' evolved from a family of community publica ...
'', Southeast Florida's only city/regional, and '' Ocean Drive'', a hot-spot social scene glossy.
Miami is also the headquarters and main production city of many of the world's largest television networks, record label companies, broadcasting companies and production facilities, such as Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
, Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
, Univision Communications
TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in New York and Mexico City, which owns the American Spanish language broadcast network Univision. 45% of the company is held by the ...
, Mega TV, Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group, is a record company specialized in producing and distributing Latin music in Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico. UMLE includes famous Latin music labels such as Uni ...
, RCTV International
RCTV International (formerly known as Coral Pictures or Coral International) is a subsidiary of Empresas 1BC. It was formed in Miami, Florida in 1982 as Coral Pictures to be the international distributor of RCTV's productions.
In 1986, the comp ...
and Sunbeam Television
Sunbeam Television Corporation is a privately held broadcasting company based in Miami, Florida, that owns three television stations in the United States.
History
Sunbeam Television was formed on December 16, 1953, by Sidney Ansin, who inherite ...
. In 2009, Univision announced plans to build a new production studio in Miami, dubbed Univision Studios. Univision Studios is currently headquartered in Miami, and will produce programming for all of Univision Communications' television networks.
Miami is the twelfth largest radio market and the seventeenth largest television market in the United States. Television stations serving the Miami area include WAMI (UniMás
UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
), WBFS (Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
), WSFL (The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
), WFOR (CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
O&O), WHFT
WHFT-TV (channel 45) is a religious television station in Miami, Florida, United States, owned and operated by the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The station's studios and transmitter are located at the Lakeside Park (formerly Lake Trinity ...
( TBN), WLTV
WLTV-DT (channel 23) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from Univision. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (the other being WXTV-DT in the New York City market). WLTV-D ...
(Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
), WPLG
WPLG (channel 10) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Berkshire Hathaway as its sole broadcast property. WPLG's studios are located on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Pembroke ...
(ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
), WPXM
WPXM-TV (channel 35) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the Ion Television network. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside CW affiliate WSFL-TV ...
(Ion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
), WSCV
WSCV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, broadcasting Telemundo programming to the Miami area. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (the other being WNJU in t ...
(Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
), WSVN
WSVN (channel 7) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is the flagship station of locally based Sunbeam Television. WSVN's studios are located on 79th Street Causeway ( SR 934) in North ...
(Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
), WTVJ
WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (ch ...
(NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
O&O), WPBT
WPBT (channel 2), is a PBS member television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It serves as the flagship station of South Florida PBS, which also owns Boynton Beach-licensed fellow PBS member WXEL-TV (channel 42, serving the West Palm B ...
(PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
), and WLRN (also PBS).
Transportation
According to the 2016 American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, 72.3% of working city of Miami residents commuted by driving alone, 8.7% carpooled, 9% used public transportation, and 3.7% walked. About 1.8% used all other forms of transportation, including taxicab, motorcycle, and bicycle. About 4.5% of working city of Miami residents worked at home. In 2015, 19.9% of city of Miami households were without a car, which decreased to 18.6% in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Miami averaged 1.24 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.
Expressways and roads
Miami's road system is based along the numerical Miami grid where Flagler Street
Flagler Street is a main east–west road in Miami. Flagler Street is the latitudinal baseline that divides all the streets on the Miami-Dade County grid plan as north or south streets (the east-west division is along Miami Avenue). Flagle ...
forms the east–west Baseline (surveying), baseline and Miami Avenue forms the north–south Meridian (geography), meridian. The corner of Flagler Street and Miami Avenue is in the middle of Downtown in front of the Downtown Macy's (formerly the Burdine's headquarters). The Miami grid is primarily numerical so that, for example, all street addresses north of Flagler Street and west of Miami Avenue have "NW" in their address. Because its point of origin is in Downtown, which is close to the coast, the "NW" and "SW" quadrants are much larger than the "SE" and "NE" quadrants. Many roads, especially major ones, are also named (e.g., Tamiami Trail, Tamiami Trail/SW 8th St), although, with exceptions, the number is in more common usage among locals.
With few exceptions, within this grid north–south roads are designated as Courts, Roads, Avenues or Places (often remembered by their acronym), while east–west roads are Streets, Terraces, Drives or occasionally Ways. Major roads in each direction are located at one mile intervals. There are 16 City block, blocks to each mile on north–south avenues, and 10 blocks to each mile on east–west streets. Major north–south avenues generally end in "7" – e.g., 17th, 27th, 37th/Douglas Aves., 57th/Red Rd., 67th/Ludlam, 87th/Galloway, etc., all the way west beyond 177th/Krome Avenue. (One prominent exception is 42nd Avenue, LeJeune Road, located at the half-mile point instead.) Major east–west streets to the south of Downtown are multiples of 16, though the beginning point of this system is at SW 8th St, one half-mile south of Flagler ("zeroth") Street. Thus, major streets are at 8th St., 24th St./Coral Way, 40th St./Bird, 56th/Miller, 72nd/ Sunset, 88th/N. Kendall, 104th (originally S. Kendall), 120th/Montgomery, 136th/Howard, 152nd/Coral Reef, 168th/Richmond, 184th/Eureka, 200th/Quail Roost, 216th/Hainlin Mill, 232nd/Silver Palm, 248th/Coconut Palm, etc., well into the 300s. Within the grid, odd-numbered addresses are generally on the north or east side, and even-numbered addresses are on the south or west side.
All streets and avenues in Miami-Dade County follow the Miami grid, with a few exceptions, most notably in Coral Gables, Hialeah, Coconut Grove and Miami Beach. One neighborhood, The Roads
The Roads is a neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is a triangular area located south of SW 11th Street, between SW 12th Avenue and SW 15th Road, just west of Brickell.
The Roads is known for its old homes, historic private ...
, is named as such because its streets run off the Miami grid at a 45-degree angle, and therefore are all named roads.
Miami-Dade County is served by four Interstate Highways (Interstate 75 (Florida), I-75, Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95, Interstate 195 (Florida), I-195, Interstate 395 (Florida), I-395) and several U.S. Highways including U.S. Route 1 (Florida), U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 27 (Florida), U.S. Route 27, U.S. Route 41 (Florida), U.S. Route 41, and U.S. Route 441 (Florida), U.S. Route 441.
Some of the major Florida State Roads (and their common names) serving Miami are:
* State Road 112 (Florida), SR 112 (Airport Expressway): Interstate 95 in Florida, Interstate 95 to Miami International Airport, MIA
* Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (SR 821): Florida's Turnpike mainline (SR 91)/Miami Gardens
Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. 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 ...
to U.S. Route 1 (Florida), U.S. Route 1/Florida City, Florida, Florida City
* State Road 826 (Florida), SR 826 (Palmetto Expressway): Golden Glades Interchange to U.S. Route 1/Pinecrest, Florida, Pinecrest
* State Road 836 (Florida), SR 836 (Dolphin Expressway): Downtown to SW 137th Ave via Miami International Airport, MIA
* State Road 874 (Florida), SR 874 (Don Shula Expressway): 826/Bird Road to Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike/Kendall, Florida, Kendall
* State Road 878 (Florida), SR 878 (Snapper Creek Expressway): SR 874/Kendall, Florida, Kendall to U.S. Route 1/Pinecrest & South Miami, Florida, South Miami
* State Road 924 (Florida), SR 924 (Gratigny Parkway) Miami Lakes, Florida, Miami Lakes to Opa-locka, Florida, Opa-locka
Miami has six major causeways that span over Biscayne Bay connecting the western mainland, with the eastern barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean. The Rickenbacker Causeway is the southernmost causeway and connects Brickell to Virginia Key
Virginia Key is an barrier island in Miami, Florida. It is located in Biscayne Bay south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne and is accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway.
The island is mainly occupied by the Virginia Key ...
and Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sout ...
. The Venetian Causeway and MacArthur Causeway
The General Douglas MacArthur Causeway is a six-lane causeway that connects Downtown Miami to South Beach via Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County.
The highway is the singular roadway connecting the mainland and beaches to Watson Island and the ba ...
connect Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
with South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
. The Julia Tuttle Causeway connects Midtown and Miami Beach. The Florida State Road 934, 79th Street Causeway connects the Upper Eastside, Miami, Florida, Upper East Side with North Beach (Miami Beach), North Beach. The northernmost causeway, the Broad Causeway, is the smallest of Miami's six causeways and connects North Miami, Florida, North Miami to Bay Harbor Islands and Bal Harbour, Florida, Bal Harbour.
In 2007, Miami was identified as having the rudest drivers in the United States, the second year in a row to have been cited, in a poll commissioned by automobile club AutoVantage. Miami is also consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States for pedestrians.
Public transportation
Public transportation in Miami is operated by Miami-Dade Transit and South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, SFRTA, and includes commuter rail (Tri-Rail), heavy-rail rapid transit (Metrorail (Miami-Dade County), Metrorail), an elevated people mover (Metromover), and buses (Miami-Dade Transit#Metrobus, Metrobus). Miami has Florida's highest transit ridership as about 17% of Miamians use transit on a daily basis. The average Miami public transit commute on weekdays is 90 minutes, while 39% of public transit riders commute for more than 2 hours a day. The average wait time at a public transit stop or station is 18 minutes, while 37% of riders wait for more than 20 minutes on average every day. The average single trip distance with public transit is , while 38% travel more than in each direction.
Miami's heavy-rail rapid transit system, Metrorail (Miami-Dade County), Metrorail, is an elevated system comprising two lines and 23 stations on a -long line. Metrorail connects the urban western suburbs of Hialeah
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Mi ...
, Medley, Florida, Medley, and inner-city Miami with suburban The Roads
The Roads is a neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is a triangular area located south of SW 11th Street, between SW 12th Avenue and SW 15th Road, just west of Brickell.
The Roads is known for its old homes, historic private ...
, Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...
, Coral Gables, South Miami, and urban Kendall, Florida, Kendall via the central business districts of Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
, the Health District, and Downtown. A free, elevated people mover, Metromover, operates 21 stations on three different lines in greater Downtown Miami, with a station at roughly every two blocks of Downtown and Brickell. Several expansion projects are being funded by a transit development sales tax surcharge throughout Miami-Dade County.
Tri-Rail, a commuter rail system operated by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), runs from Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
northward to West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach, making eighteen stops throughout Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade, Broward County, Broward, and Palm Beach County, Palm Beach counties.
The Miami Intermodal Center is a massive transportation hub servicing Metrorail (Miami-Dade County), Metrorail, Amtrak, Tri-Rail, Miami-Dade Transit#Metrobus, Metrobus, Greyhound Lines, Taxicab, taxis, rental cars, MIA Mover, private automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians adjacent to Miami International Airport. Miami Intermodal Center was completed in 2010, and is serving about 150,000 commuters and travelers in the Miami area. Phase I of MiamiCentral Station was completed in 2012, and the Tri-Rail part of Phase II was completed in 2015, but the construction of the Amtrak part remains delayed.
Two new light rail systems, Baylink and the Miami Streetcar, have been proposed and are currently in the planning stage. BayLink would connect Downtown with South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
, and the Miami Streetcar would connect Downtown with Midtown.
Miami is the southern terminus of Amtrak's Atlantic Coast services, running two lines, the Silver Meteor and the Silver Star (Amtrak train), Silver Star, both terminating in New York City. The Miami Amtrak Station is located in the suburb of Hialeah near the Tri-Rail and Metrorail transfer station, Tri-Rail/Metrorail Station on NW 79 St and NW 38 Ave. Current construction of the Miami Central Station will move all Amtrak operations from its current out-of-the-way location to a centralized location with Miami Metrorail, Metrorail, MIA Mover, Tri-Rail, Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
, and the Miami Intermodal Center all within the same station closer to Downtown. The station was expected to be completed by 2012, but experienced several delays and was later expected to be completed in late 2014, again pushed back to early 2015.
Airports
Miami International Airport serves as the primary international airport of the Greater Miami Area. One of the busiest international airports in the world because of its centric location, Miami International Airport caters to over 45 million passengers a year. The airport is a major hub and the largest international gateway for American Airlines. Miami International is the second busiest airport by passenger traffic in Florida, the United States' third-largest international port of entry for foreign air passengers behind New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. The airport's extensive international route network includes non-stop flights to over seventy international cities in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Alternatively, nearby Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport also serve commercial traffic in the Miami area. Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Opa-locka, Florida, Opa-locka and Miami Executive Airport in an unincorporated area southwest of Miami serve general aviation traffic in the Miami area.
Cycling and walking
The city government under former mayor Manny Diaz (Florida politician), Manny Diaz took an ambitious stance in support of bicycling in Miami for both recreation and commuting. In 2010, Miami was ranked as the 44th-most bike-friendly city in the US according to ''Bicycling Magazine''.
A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Miami the eighth-most walkable of the fifty largest cities in the U.S.
Public safety
International relations
Sister cities
* Agadir, Morocco (since 1995)
* Barranquilla, Colombia (since 2015)
* Bogotá, Colombia (since 1971)
* Buenos Aires, Argentina (since 1979)[
* Kagoshima, Japan (since 1990)]
* Kaohsiung, Taiwan (since 1987)
* Lima, Peru (since 1977)[
* Madrid, Spain (since 2014)][
* Murcia, Spain (since 1993)
* Nice, France (since 1986)
* Palermo, Italy (since 1997)
* Qingdao, China (since 2005)][
* Salvador, Bahia, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (since 2006)][
* San Salvador, El Salvador (since 1991)][
* Santiago, Chile, Santiago, Chile (since 1986)][
* Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (since 1987)][
* Southampton, United Kingdom (since 2019)
]
Cooperation agreements
* Lisbon, Portugal
* Yeruham, Israel
Notable people
Notes
References
Further reading
* Elizabeth M. Aranda, Sallie Hughes, and Elena Sabogal, ''Making a Life in Multiethnic Miami: Immigration and the Rise of a Global City.'' Boulder, Colorado: Renner, 2014.
External links
City of Miami – official site
Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau
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