West Park, officially the City of West Park, is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States. It was created on March 1, 2005. West Park is part of the

Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the lar ...

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. It is located in the southeastern part of the county and consists of the neighborhoods of Carver Ranches, Lake Forest, Miami Gardens (Broward County), and

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

. A large portion of the city lies west of the town of Pembroke Park, so the new city was called "West Park". The city has a population of 15,130 as of the 2020 census.

History

The previously unincorporated neighborhoods of West Park embarked on the road to incorporation in 2004, after the Florida Legislature approved House Bill 1491, which provided for an election on November 2, 2004. Following a vote of 3,400 to 956 for incorporation, West Park was on its way to becoming Broward County's 31st city. After the election, residents elected an interim transition committee and held a series of workshops to gain input on the level of municipal-type services to be provided. It was decided that the new municipality would be known as West Park until a consensus was reached on a permanent name; this name was subsequently retained. On March 8, 2005, Eric H. Jones, Jr., was elected

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and four Commissioners were elected: Felicia M. Brunson, Thomas W. Dorsett, Sharon Fyffe and Rita "Peaches" Mack. They were sworn-in as the municipality's first elected leaders on March 10, 2005. In 2011 West Park, received acknowledgement from the national non-profit organization KaBOOM! As the city garnered the designation of a 2011 Playful City USA community. This recognition was given the city's effort to “increase play opportunities for children”.

Geography

The city is bordered by

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 coun ...

on the south,

Pembroke Park Pembroke Park is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. The town took its name from its location along Pembroke Road. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area. Almost one-half of its residents live in mobile homes. As of th ...

on the east,

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

on the north and Miramar on the west.

Media

The city of West Park has its own newspaper,
The West Park News
, which is published by and part of Miami Community Newspapers.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,130 people, 4,260 households, and 3,274 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 14,156 people, 4,340 households, and 3,219 families residing in the city.

2010 Census

2000 census

As of 2000, before being

annex Annex or annexe may refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. * The Annex (New Haven), a neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, United States. * Annex, Oregon, a census-designated place in the United ...

ed to West Park, the Carver Ranches neighborhood had English as a

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

accounted for 96.90% of all residents, while

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

accounted for 2.19%, and French Creole as a

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

made up 0.90% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to West Park, the Lake Forest neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 60.49% of all residents, while Spanish accounted for 34.79%, French Creole at 4.04%, and French as a mother tongue made up 0.67% of the population. As of 2000, the Miami Gardens neighborhood, before being annexed to West Park, had Spanish as a first language accounted for 51.09% of all residents, while English accounted for 45.17%, and French Creole as a mother tongue made up 3.72% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to West Park, the neighborhood of Utopia had English as a first language accounted for 80.62% of all residents, while Spanish as a mother tongue made up 19.37% of the population. As of 2000, before West Park annexed it, the Miami Gardens neighborhood had the 103rd-highest percentage of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n residents in the US, with 1.63% of the US populace. The forty-fourth-highest percentage of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n residents in the US, at 9.76% of the city's population (tied with Key Largo,) the twenty-fourth-highest percentage of

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

in the US, with 4.62%, and the fifteenth-highest percentage of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n residents in the US, at 6.3% of the city's population. It also had the forty-fourth-most

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vians in the US, at 1.26% (tied with North Plainfield,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

,) while it had the forty-fifth-highest percentage of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

ans (tied with

Leisure City Leisure City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, that includes the smaller, older community of Modello in its northwestern section. The CDP is most notable for the Coral C ...

), at 3.6% of all residents. Also, West Park's Miami Gardens neighborhood had the sixty-first-highest percentage of

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...

, which was at an 11.2% populace. As of 2010, there were 4,711 households, out of which 8.0% were vacant.

Education

Residents are zoned to schools in Broward County Public Schools: * A portion of the town is zoned to Lake Forest Elementary School, and a portion is zoned to Watkins Elementary School. * McNicol Middle School * Hallandale High SchoolHallandale High
" Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 23, 2018.

References

External links

City of West Park official website
{{authority control Cities in Broward County, Florida Cities in Florida