Miami Beach, Florida

City of Miami Beach
	City of Miami Beach
	Southern portion of Miami Beach with downtown Miami in background
	; Seal
	; Seal
	Nickname(s): The Beach
	Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida
	U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits
	Coordinates: 25°48′46.89″N 80°8′2.63″W / 25.813025°N 80.1340639°WCoordinates: 25°48′46.89″N 80°8′2.63″W / 25.813025°N 80.1340639°W
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Miami-Dade
Incorporated	March 26, 1915
	Government
- Mayor	Matti Herrera Bower
	Area
- City	18.7 sq mi (48.5 km2)
- Land	7.0 sq mi (18.2 km2)
- Water	11.7 sq mi (30.2 km2) 62.37%
Elevation	3 ft (1 m)
	Population (2005)
- City	87,925
- Density	12,502.1/sq mi (4,829.5/km2)
- Metro	5,422,200
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip	33109, 33139, 33140, 33141.
Area code(s)	305, 786
FIPS code	12-45025
GNIS feature ID	0286750
Website	www.miamibeachfl.gov

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"Miami Beach" redirects here. For the beach in Barbados, see Miami Beach, Barbados.

See also: South Beach and North Beach (Miami Beach)

Miami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on 26 March 1915.^[3] It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the umbrella term of "Miami," despite being a distinct municipality. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,933. 55.5% of the population was foreign born.^[4] A 2005 population estimate for the city was 87,925.^[5] Miami Beach has been one of America's pre-eminent beach resorts for almost a century.

[edit] Description

In 1979 Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. Mediterranean, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco are all represented in the District. The Historic District is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer Barbara Capitman, who now has a street in the District named in her honor.

[edit] Government

Miami Beach is governed by a Mayor and 6 Commissioners. The mayor runs commission meetings and the mayor and all commissioners have equal voting power. The Mayor serves for terms of 2 years with a term limit of 3 terms and commissioners serve for terms of 4 years and are limited to 2 terms. Commissioners are voted for by region and every two years 3 commission seats are voted upon. A city manager is responsible for administering governmental operations.

As of January 2009 the Mayor is Matti Herrera Bower. The Commissioners are: Saul Gross, Jerry Libbin, Victor Diaz, Ed Tobin, Deede Weithorn and Jonah Wolfson.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Image and cultural depictions

South Beach (also known as SoBe, or simply The Beach the area from 1st street to about 25th street) is one of the more popular areas of Miami Beach. Topless sunbathing is tolerated on certain designated areas of the beach. Before the TV show Miami Vice helped make the area popular, SoBe was under urban blight, with vacant buildings and a high crime rate. Today, it is considered one of the richest commercial areas on the beach, yet poverty and crime still remain in some places near the area.^[6]

Miami Beach, particularly Ocean Drive of what is now the Art Deco District, was also featured prominently in the 1983 feature film Scarface and the Birdcage.

The New World Symphony Orchestra is based in Miami Beach, Florida, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.

Lincoln Road is a nationally known spot for great outdoor dining, bicycling, rollerblading and shopping.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Jewish population

The Miami Beach environs are home to a number of Orthodox Jewish communities with a network of well-established synagogues and yeshivas. It is also a magnet for Jewish families, retirees, and particularly snowbirds when the cold winter sets in to the north. They range from the Followers to the Modern Orthodox to the Haredi and Hasidic - including many rebbes who vacation there during the North American winter. There are a number of kosher restaurants and even kollels for post-graduate Talmudic scholars. Miami Beach had roughly 60,000 people in Jewish households, 62 percent of the total population, in 1982, but only 16,500, or 19 percent of the population, in 2004, said Ira Sheskin, a demographer at the University of Miami who conducts surveys once a decade.^{[citation needed]}

Miami Beach is home to the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach.

[edit] Other

According to the Morgan Quitno Awards, Miami Beach is one of the most dangerous small cities (population between 75,000 and 99,999) in the country.^[7]

Each December, The city plays host to the major contemporary art exhibition Art Basel Miami Beach.

[edit] Geography and climate

Panoramic view of South Beach

Typical winter day in South Beach

Miami Beach is located at 25°48′47″N 80°08′03″W / 25.813025°N 80.134065°W / 25.813025; -80.134065 (25.813025, -80.134065).^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.5 km² (18.7 mi²). 18.2 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 30.2 km² (11.7 mi²) of it (62.37%) is water.

It has a tropical climate.^[9]

[edit] Surrounding areas

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 87,933 people, 46,194 households, and 18,339 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,829.5/km² (12,502.1/mi²). There were 59,723 housing units at an average density of 3,280.1/km² (8,491.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.74% White (40.9% were Non-Hispanic Whites,)^[10] 4.03% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.37% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.05% from other races, and 3.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 53.45% of the population.

There were 46,194 households out of which 14.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.3% were non-families. 48.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was sixty-five years of age or older. The average household size was 1.87 and the average family size was 2.76.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1920	644	—
1930	6,494	908.4%
1940	28,012	331.4%
1950	46,282	65.2%
1960	63,145	36.4%
1970	87,072	37.9%
1980	96,298	10.6%
1990	92,639	−3.8%
2000	87,933	−5.1%
Est. 2007	93,535	6.4%

In the city the population was spread out with 13.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 38.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were sixty-five years of age or older. The median age was thirty-nine years. For every 100 females there were 105.0 males. For every 100 females age eighteen and over, there were 105.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,322, and the median income for a family was $33,440. Males had a median income of $33,964 versus $27,094 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,853. About 17.0% of families and 21.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age sixty-five or over.

As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as a first language accounted for 54.89% of residents, while English made up 32.75%, Portuguese was at 3.38%, French was at 1.66%, German at 1.12%, Italian 0.99%, and Russian was 0.85% of the population. Due to the large Jewish community, Yiddish made up 0.81% of speakers, and Hebrew was the mother tongue of 0.74% of the population.^[11]

As of 2000, Miami Beach had the twenty-second highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, with 20.51% of the populace.^[12] It had the twenty-eighth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 4.4% of the city's population,^[13] and the fourteenth highest percentage of Brazilian residents in the US, at 2.2% of the its population (tied with Hillside, New Jersey and Hudson, Massachusetts.)^[14] It also had the twenty-seventh most Peruvians in the US, at 1.85%,^[15] while it had the twenty-seventh highest percentage of Venezuelans, at 1.79% of all residents.^[16] Miami Beach's Honduran community had the thirty-third highest percentage of residents, which comprised 1.03% of the population.^[17] Its also home to the forty-first highest percentage of Nicaraguan residents, which made up 1.03% of the population.^[18]

[edit] Education

Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves Miami Beach.

North Beach Elementary
South Pointe Elementary
Biscayne Elementary
Feinberg/Fisher Elementary
Treasure Island Elementary
Ruth K. Broad/ Bay Harbor Elementary
Nautilus Middle School (which is the only Public middle school for the Miami Beach area)
Miami Beach Senior High School (which is the only Public high school for the Miami Beach area)

Private schools include Landow Yeshiva - Lubavitch Educational Center (Klurman Mesivta for Boys), and Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy.

Tertiary education in Miami Beach includes Yeshiva Gedolah Rabbinical College - Lubavitch, Talmudic University of Florida, and a branch of National School of Technology

[edit] Neighborhoods

A portion of the southern part of the South Beach skyline as seen from Biscayne Bay. Photo: Marc Averette

The northernmost section of the city referred to as North Beach

Ocean Drive on Super Bowl XLI weekend 2/3/2007. Photo: Marc Averette

Bayshore
- Sunset Islands I & II
- Sunset Islands III & IV
- Sunset Harbour
- The Townhomes at Sunset Harbour
Biscayne Point
- Stillwater Drive Neighborhood
City Center
- Collins Park
Fisher Island (A small portion of the island)
Flamingo/Lummus
- Flamingo Park
- Flamingo Park West
- North Ocean Drive Area
- South Beach
La Gorce
- Allison Island
- Aqua Allison Island
- La Gorce Island
- La Gorce Pine Tree
- Lower North Bay Road Neighborhood
- Middle North Bay Road Neighborhood
Nautilus
- Alton Road Neighborhood
- Lakeview/Surprise Lake
- Orchard Park
North Shore
- Little Buenos Aires
- Normandy Fountain
- Park View Island
Normandy Isles
- Normandie Sud
Normandy Shores
Oceanfront
South Pointe
- SoFi (South of Fifth)
Star Island, Palm Island, & Hibiscus Island
Venetian Islands, including Belle Isle
- Biscayne Island
- Di Lido Island
- Rivo Alto Island
- San Marco Island
- San Marino Island
West Avenue/Bay Road
- Lincoln West