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Miami-Dade County (formerly known as Dade County) is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the county population was 2,402,208 in 2005, making it the most populous county in the state and the eighth most populous county in the nation.[1] The county seat is Miami, located in the northeastern part of the county. 51.4% of Miami-Dade County residents are foreign-born, a percentage greater than any other county in the United States.[1]
HistoryDade County was created in 1836. It was named after Major Francis L. Dade, a soldier killed in 1835 in the Second Seminole War, at what has since been named the Dade Battlefield. The county seat was originally at Indian Key in the Florida Keys. The name was changed to Miami-Dade County on July 22, 1997 after being approved by voters. The second-costliest natural disaster to occur in the United States was the disastrous Hurricane Andrew, which hit this county early Monday morning on August 24, 1992. It struck the central part of the county from due east, south of Miami and very near Homestead, Kendall, and Cutler Ridge (now the Town of Cutler Bay). Damages numbered over 25 billion dollars in the county alone, and recovery has taken years in these areas where the destruction was greatest. This was the costliest natural disaster in US history until Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf region in 2005. After the Cuban Revolution, exiles from Cuba migrated in large numbers to Dade County. Geography
The bay is divided from the Atlantic Ocean by the many barrier isles along the coast, one of which is where well-known Miami Beach is located, home to South Beach and the Art Deco district. The Florida Keys, which are also barrier islands are only accessible through Miami-Dade County, but which are otherwise part of neighboring Monroe County. Miami is the only metropolitan area in the United States that borders two national parks. Biscayne National Park is located east of the mainland, in Biscayne Bay, and the western third of Miami-Dade County lies within Everglades National Park. Adjacent Counties
DemographicsImage:USA Miami-Dade County, Florida age pyramid.svg Age pyramid of Miami-Dade county As of the census² of 2000, there were 2,253,362 people, 776,774 households, and 548,402 families residing in the county. The population density was 447/km² (1,158/mi²). There were 852,278 housing units at an average density of 169/km² (438/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 18.6% White (not Hispanic), 20.5% Black (not Hispanic) (with a large part being of Caribbean descent) and African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 4.58% from other races, and 3.79% from two or more races. 60.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 51.4% of the county residents were born outside the United States, while 67% of the population speaks a language other than English at home. There were 776,774 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.35. The age distribution is 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,966, and the median income for a family was $40,260. Males had a median income of $30,120 versus $24,686 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,497. About 14.5% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over. Public SafetyImage:Dadecountysign.jpg A sign shown in a county border of Miami-Dade County. Most municipalities and all unincorporated areas in the county are provided fire rescue, and EMS serivices by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. These municipalities are Aventura, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Biscayne Park, Doral, El Portal, Florida City, Golden Beach, Hialeah Gardens, Homestead, Indian Creek, Islandia, Medley, Miami Lakes, Miami Shores, Miami Springs, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Opa-locka, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Surfside, Sweetwater, Sunny Isles Beach, Virginia Gardens, and West Miami.[2] Police service is provided for all of Miami-Dade's unincorporated areas by the Miami-Dade Police Department. Law and government
Miami-Dade County has operated under a unique metropolitan system of government, a "two-tier federation," since 1957. This was made possible when Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1956 that allowed the people of Dade County (as it was known then) to enact a home rule charter. Prior to this year, home rule did not exist in Florida, and counties were only able to exercise those powers specifically granted to them under the Florida Constitution and state law. Local laws could only be enacted by a special act of the Legislature. Federation, not total consolidationUnlike a consolidated city-county, where the city and county governments merge into a single entity, these two entities remain separate. Instead there are two "tiers", or levels, of government: city and county. There are 35 municipalites in the county, the City of Miami being the largest. Cities are the "lower tier" of local government, providing police and fire protection, zoning and code enforcement, and other typical city services within their jurisdiction. These services are paid for by city taxes. The County is the "upper tier", and it provides services of a metropolitan nature, such as emergency management, airport and seaport operations, public housing and health care services, transportation, environmental services, solid waste disposal etc. These are funded by county taxes, which are assessed on all incorporated and unincorporated areas. Of the county's 2.2 million total residents (as of 2000), approximately 52% live in unincorporated areas, the majority of which are heavily urbanized. These residents are part of the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA). For these residents, the County fills the role of both lower- and upper-tier government, the County Commission acting as their lower-tier municipal representative body. Residents within UMSA pay an UMSA tax, equivalent to a city tax, which is used to provide County residents with equivalent city services (police, fire, zoning, water and sewer, etc.). Residents of incorporated areas do not pay UMSA tax. Structure of county governmentImage:Miami Dade County Logo RGB.jpg Miami-Dade County logo. The Executive Mayor of Miami-Dade County is elected countywide to serve a four-year term. The Mayor is not a member of the County Commission. The Mayor appoints a County Manager, with approval and consent of the Board of County Commissioners, to oversee the operations of the County Departments. The Mayor has veto power over the Commission. The current mayor is Cuban-born Carlos Alvarez. The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body, consisting of 13 members elected from single-member districts. Members are elected to serve four-year terms, and elections of members are staggered. The Board chooses a Chairperson, who presides over the Commission, as well as appoints the members of its legislative committees. The Board has a wide array of powers to enact legislation, create departments, and regulate businesses operating within the County. It also has the power to override the Mayor's veto with a two-thirds vote. The election of Commissioners from single member districts came to be in 1992 after a group led by attorney and City of Miami Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr. with the support of some African American and Hispanic civic leaders, challenged the at large election system in the courts, arguing that the present system did not allow for the election of minority commissioners, despite the fact that African American Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler had been elected several times. The court, under the ruling of Judge Graham, created the single member district election system. Image:Heyman.jpg District 4 commisioner,Sally A. Heyman.
Reorganization of constitutional officersFlorida's Constitution provides for four elected officials to oversee executive and administrative functions for each county (called "Constitutional Officers"): Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, and Tax Collector. Each of these offices were reorganized and became subordinate County Departments. Today these positions are appointed by and report to the Mayor. The most visible distinction between Miami-Dade and other Florida counties is the title of its law enforcement agency. It is the only county in Florida that does not have an elected sheriff, or an agency titled "Sheriff's Office." Instead the equivalent agency is known as the Miami-Dade Police Department, and its leader is known as the Metropolitan Sheriff and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department. Independent judiciaryImage:DowntownMiamiCourthouseSculpture.jpg Outside the Miami-Dade county courthouse. The judicial offices of Clerk of the Circuit Court, State Attorney, and Public Defender are still branches of State government and are therefore independently elected and not part of County government. ClimateMiami-Dade has a tropical climate[3], with very hot and humid summers, and mild winters. In the summers the average high is usually in the 90's and the low in the 80's. In winter occasional cold fronts come through with cold weather. Hurricanes, most often during the summer months, bring considerable rainfall and can cause significant property damage. Cities, towns, villages, unincorporated communitiesIncorporated
Unincorporated areas and census-designated places
City districts and neighborhoods (and recently annexed census-designated places)
EducationImage:FIU-GreenLibrary.jpg Green Library, Florida International University. In Florida, each county is also a school district. Miami-Dade County Public Schools, is operated by an independently-elected School Board. A professional Superintendent of Schools manages the day-to-day operations of the district, who is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the School Board. The Miami-Dade County Public School District is currently the 4th largest public school district in the nation. Some colleges and universities in the county include:
TransportationFor information on public transit see: Miami-Dade Transit Interstate 95 is the main North/South highway throughout the county. It begins in South-Miami Dade and goes up the entire east coast. The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority manages five expressways in the county. Major Freeways and Tollways
Street gridA street grid stretches from downtown Miami throughout the county. This grid was adopted by the City of Miami following World War I after the United States Post Office threatened to cease mail deliveries in the city because the original system of named streets, with names often changing every few blocks and multiple streets in the city sharing the same name, was too confusing for the mail carriers.[4] The new grid was later extended throughout the county as the population grew west, south, and north of city limits. The grid is laid out with Miami Avenue as the base avenue going North-South and Flagler Street the base street going east-west. The grid is primarily numerical so that, for example, all street addresses north of Flagler and west of Miami Avenue have NW in their address (eg. NW 27th Avenue). Because its point of origin is in downtown Miami 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, although- with a few notable exceptions, the number is in more common usage among locals. Although this grid is easy to understand once one is oriented to it, it is not universal in the entire county. Hialeah uses its own grid system which is entirely different in its orientation. Coral Gables and Miami Lakes use named streets almost exclusively, and various smaller municipalities such as Florida City and Homestead use their own grid system along with the Miami-Dade grid system adding to the confusion. Sister CitiesMiami-Dade County has 24 sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
