Miami is an important city located at the south-east of the Florida, with the the United States of America. Chief town of the County of Miami-Dade, it is, by its population of: 392417 inhabitants (2005), the second municipality of Florida after Jacksonville and the 45e city of the United States. Miami is it city-center of a vast agglomeration of: 5422200 inhabitants. It is the fifth metropolis of the country. Financial and cultural center, Melting pot, Carry from Americas .

The importance of Miami like international center, financial, and Culturel raised Miami with the statute of city-world. Because of cultural and linguistic connections of Miami towards the Northern , the Southern, and the Central America, as well as the the Caribbean, Miami is often indicated under the name of “passage of Americas”. The large population of Spanish language and the strong economic links of Florida towards the Latin America also make of Miami and the surrounding area an important center of the world Hispanique. Downtown Miami currently saw true a Urban renewal. Majority of the population of Miami east of Cuban origin.

History

The name of “Miami” comes from an Indian word which means “fresh water”. The first traces of settlement go back approximately: 12000 years. The Amerindian Tequesta are the inhabitants of the area at the time of the arrival of the Spanish : they are established on the banks of the Miami river, especially on northern bank. They practice hunting, the gathering of fruits, roots and plants, but do not know the Agriculture. The archeologists estimate that they are at the origin of the Miami Circle , an archeological site located in the downtown area and composed of a perfect circle of 24 holes or basins dug in the rock, which would go back to 1700 to 2000 years. Its authenticity nevertheless was blamed by certain specialists and of multiple theories circulate about it.

Juan Sandpapers of León, a Spanish Conquistador, is the first European to have visited Florida. He discovers bay of Biscayne in 1513 and written in the log book that he reached Chequescha : it is about the first recorded name of Miami. One is unaware of if it organized a forwarding with ground, and it is thus Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and her men who are considered to be the first to be accosted. They visit the village of Tequesta in 1556. Their arrival has consequences on the life of the Amerindians: the diseases, of which the Variola, and the wars will devastate Tequesta, which disappear completely 250 years later.

It is at the beginning of the Années 1800 that the first European colonists, who come for the majority from the the Bahamas, move into the zone. The area is touched by the Second War séminole, a conflict which makes rage of 1835 with 1842. The civil population leaves the area and the army installs Fort Dallas to protect the area. At the end of the conflict William English off bases the Village Miami on southern bank of the river. In 1844 Miami becomes the chief town of the county. Julia Tuttle, a rich woman originating in Cleveland, buys a vast plantation of Citron S in the area, then settles there after the death of its husband. Considering that Miami has an important potential, that which one calls today Mother of Miami devote the remainder of its life to the urban development. Thanks to the assistance of William Brickell, the cofounder of Miami, it convinces Henry Morrison Flagler of the Florida East Coast Railway to connect Miami to this line of Railroad, which is carried out the April 7th 1896. The July 28th 1896 the city constitutes municipality. The Royal Palm Hotel , inaugurated in January 1897, opens the city - hitherto especially dedicated to agriculture - with tourism.

During the Années 1920 the city authorizes the money plays and does not make apply the Prohibition, which involves a demographic boom, the population increasing in a few years by 30.000 to 200.000 people. However a cyclone strikes the city in 1926. It causes the death of hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of residences: between 25.000 and 50.000 people are consequently without home. The catastrophe, followed a few years later by the Great Depression, stops the boom of the real estate. The city however quickly starts again its economy thanks to the aircraft industry.

The come to power of Fidel Castro to Cuba in 1959 makes flow in one decade a half-million Cubans to Florida of the south, including 250.000 in Miami. The Ouragan Andrew causes more than 45 billion Dollar S damage in the area in 1992: it is one of the most destroying natural disasters which the country underwent. In spite of several episodes of economic crisis and racial tension, as well as the problems of the Corruption and the Traffic of narcotic, Miami is currently under development full and always attracts new populations.

Geography

The municipality and its suburbs occupy a broad plain located between the Everglades and the Baie of Biscayne whose average altitude borders 0,91 meter and who does not exceed 4,5 meters, especially close to the coast. The downtown area is located on the coast of bay of Biscayne which is strewn with many natural or artificial islands, from which largest Miami Beach contains.

Miami is located at 25°47 ′ 16 ″ NR, 80°13 ′ 27 ″ W. the city extends on a surface from 143,15 km ², including 92,68 km ² of emerged grounds. Among the principal cities of the United States, it is smallest into wide (San Francisco and Boston is slightly wider).

Climate

Miami profits from a tropical Climat hot and soft all the year which profits from the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream, a oceanic current which passes to 24 km of the coast. The average temperature is of 24 °C. The average minimal temperature (January) is of 15,1°C, the average maximum temperature (July) is of 31,6°C. The average annual quantity of precipitations is of 1480 Misters the month more sprinkled is June with 220 Misters.

The maximum temperature recorded in the city is of 37,8°C, on July 21st, 1942, the minimal temperature is of -2°C on January 27th, 1940. Only one snowfall is recorded, it took place on January 20th, 1977.

Being placed between two vast stretch of water known for their cyclonic activity, Miami is at the statistical level the big city most likely to be touched by a tropical cyclone. The city underwent the passage of the hurricane Cleo (1964), of the Ouragan Betsy (1965), of the Ouragan Andrew (1992), of Irene (1999) and of the hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005.

Districts

See also: List of the districts of Miami

Downtown Miami, the downtown area, is located at center-is city. One can find there the Central business district of Miami and the financial district of Brickell. These two districts are separated by the Miami river. Midtown Miami is in the north of the center, it occupies the parts of the city known under the name of Wynwood, Edgewater (western) and Overtown (western). Among the other districts, one counts Coconut Grove, Allapattah, Liberty City, Wynwood Art District, where several museums are; Flagami and Upper Eastside.

The zone located towards the 8th street, with its small shops held by Cubans, is known under the name of small Havana (Little Havana); there exists also a small Haiti (Little Haiti). These two districts are urban enclaves where communities Cuba live respectively innate and Haiti enne.

Principal buildings

See also: List of the highest buildings of Miami

Currently, the largest skyscraper of Miami is the Four Seasons Hotel Miami with 242 meters in height and 72 stages, completed in 2003. It is followed by the office building Wachovia Financial Center of 233 meters, inaugurated in 1984. Many buildings are currently in construction. Many projects exist of which certain, like the Empire World Towers or One Bayfront Plaza , envisage the construction of skyscraper of more than 300 meters in height. If all the current projects and constructions arrive in the long term, Miami could become in 2010 the third urban Panorama of the country, after New York and Chicago, on the level of the number of skyscrapers.

Demography

The urban surface of Miami extends on the counties from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, which represents a population of more than 5,4 million people and in fact on the one hand the fifth agglomeration of the country and on the other hand the greatest urban whole of the South-east of the United States in front of Atlanta and its periphery.

With regard to the municipality, the Census of 2005, gives a population of 392.417 inhabitants, divided into 134.198 hearths, including 83.336 families. The Densité is there of 1 063,5h/km ². The racial distribution is to 66,62% Blanc He, 22,31% Noir E, 0,22% Amerindian, 0,66% Asiatique. 5,46% belong to other races and 4,74% to two races or more. 65,76% of the population are of culture Hispanic.

On the 134.198 Household S:

  • 26,3% has at least a minor
  • 36,6% are composed of married couples
  • 18,7% are single-parent
  • 37,9% are not families
  • 30,4% are unipersonal
  • 12,5% are unipersonal with an age higher than 65 years
The average population by household is of 2,61 and by family of 3,25.

Composition by age bracket:

  • 21,7% of minor,
  • 8,8% from 18 to 24,
  • 30,3% from 25 to 44,
  • 22,2% from 45 to 64,
  • 17% of more than 65 years

The median age is 38 years. There are 100 women for 98,9 men. In the adult population, there are 100 women for 97,3 men.

The median income by household is there of 23.483 US$, That by family is of 27.225 US$. The male median income is of 24.090 US$ against 20.115 $ for the female one. The income per head is of 15.128 US$. 28,5% of the population and 23,5% of the families live under the Poverty line. Among them, 38,2% are minors and 29,3% have more than 65 years.

The cuban community of Miami counts approximately 650.000 people in 2006.

Miami has three official languages: the English, the Spanish and the Creole Haitian, but many other languages are spoken in the city, of which the Portuguese Brésil IEN, the French, the German , the Hebrew , the Italian and the Russian .

Economy

Miami is regarded today as a city open to the international business and especially with the Latin America. The city is sometimes regarded as the door of the the United States towards the Latin America, from where its nickname of The Gateway off the Americas , the door of the America S . The Tourisme is a major source of incomes for the city which lives of its image of tropical paradise, in particular with the district of Miami Beach. Beyond its climate enchanter, his mixed culture and its international character make the city attractive.

The Active population is of: 193736 people, of which: 17607 people with unemployment, is 9,1% of the total.

The Port of Miami is the most important port of the sphere for the transport of the passengers of cruising. : 3605201 people embarked in 2005 there, that is to say a progression from approximately 15,8% compared to 1999.

Since 2005 the area of Miami saw its more important real boom since the Années 1920. It is the framework of a phenomenon that some call Manhattanization (in reference to the borough of Manhattan, to New York) of Miami: more than 80 buildings of great height and skyscraper are there in construction, of which buildings of the Biscayne Wall bordering Biscayne Boulevard , Marinablue , the Ten Museum Park , Marquis Miami , 900 Biscayne Bay , Everglades one the Bay and Freedom Square . The district recently created of Midtown Miami is another illustration of the economic vitality of the metropolis.

The city attracts many companies, several of them large companies, which installed their head office in Miami or in the vicinity. One can quote Alienware, AutoNation, Brightstar Corporation, Burger King, Carnival Cruise Lines, Citrix systems, DHL, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Ryder Systems and Spirit Airlines.

Culture

  • Museum of Contemporary art

  • Since 2001, a fair of contemporary art ( Art Basel Miami ), is held in the town of Florida and has as a director Switzerland Samuel Keller.

Education

The public corporations of the city are managed by the district Miami-Dade County Public Schools , most important of Florida and the fourth of the United States with 414.128 pupils, of which 52% are of Hispanic origin.

The two public universities located on the municipal territory are the Florida International University and the Miami Dade College. Are also in the vicinity the University of Miami (private), Barry University (private catholic), Florida Memorial University (private), St Thomas University (private catholic) and Johnson and Wales University (private).

Media

The principal newspapers are The Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel (English), El Nuevo Herald and Diario Las Americas (Spanish), and the Miami' S Community Newspapers .

Miami is it twelfth market of the radio and the gone seventeenth of television in the United States. The principal television channels of the area are WAMI (TeleFutura Network), WBFS (My Network TV), WSFL (The CW), WFOR (CBS), WHFT (TBN), WLTV (Univision), WPLG (ABC), WPXM (ION), WSCV (Telemundo), WSVN (FOX), WTVJ (NBC), WPBT (PBS), WLRN (also managed by PBS) and WSBS Mega TV.

Appearances in the popular culture

Many films were made to Miami, among which Porky' S (1982), Scarface (1983), the Cage with insane the (American adaptation) (1986), Only the Strong (1993), Bad Boys (1995), the Hell of Sunday (1999), Bad Boys II (2002), 2Fast2Furious (2004), Conveyer 2 (2005) and Miami Vice (2006).

Several televised series have as a Miami framework, of which Nip/Tuck, Experts: Miami (CSI: Miami), Good Morning, Miami, Cracking Them (The Girls Golden delicious), Two cops in Miami (Miami Vice), Karen Sisco, the House in madness (Empty Nest), Sclub 7 in Miami and more recently Dexter.

The video games Large Theft Car: Defect City and Large Theft Car: Vice City Stories proceed in an imaginary city strongly inspired by Miami on the level of its geography and architecture. One can also quote Driver, Driver 3, Scarface: The World is Yours, Miami Nights: Individual In The City, Miami Vice: Two cops in Miami, Miami Vice: The Range and Experts: Miami, investigations in the middle of the crime.

Music

The Latin-American immigrants brought to Miami the Conga and the Rumba. During the Years 1970 several groups and musicians of Miami become popular, of which KC and the Sunshine Band, with " Get Down Tonight" , " (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" and " That' S the Way (I Like It) " ; Foxy, with " Get Off" and " Hot Number".

Gloria Estefan and groups it Miami Sound Machine made popular their music at the cuban origins in the Années 1980 with " Conga" and " Bad Boys".

Miami is the host of the Winter Music Conference.

Sports

Transport

Air transport

The International airport of Miami belongs to the thirty principal Aéroport S of the world: 35 million passengers forwards there per annum. It is the fourth main door of the country for the foreign air travellers after the International airport O' Hare of Chicago, the John-F International airport. - Kennedy and the International airport of Los Angeles. The International airport of Strong Lauderdale-Hollywood located in the vicinity also serves commercial flights, its vocation is less international since it is used by passengers beginning or finishing their voyage in Florida of the South.

Maritime transport

The Wearing of Miami, in addition to being the largest accommodating port of the boats of cruising in the world, is one of the most important ports of Goods transport of the country.

Roads and rail-bound transport

Miami and its county are served by four highways inter-States, the highways I-75, I-95, I-195, I-395, and by several U.S. Roads, of which U.S. Road 1, U.S. Road 27, U.S. Road 41 and U.S. Road 441; which several axes are added belonging to the highway network of Florida.

Miami is the southern terminus of services of the coast Atlantique of Amtrak, whose terminal is located in a city of the periphery, Hialeah.

Public transport

Miami-Dade Transit is the public authority of management of public transport in the county of Miami-Dade. It directs the greatest grid system of Florida, and 14th in importance of the United States. It includes/understands various systems:

  • the Metrorail is a line of Métro 36 km length used by: 62300 people each day. Three projects could give rise to three new lines in the next years.
  • the Metromover is a Transport hectometric which serves Downtown Miami de Omni with Brickell and joined Metrorail at the stations of Government Center and Brickell . The line 7,1 km is long.
  • the Metrobus is a network of Autobus of more than 100 lines used by: 267700 people daily.
  • the Paratransit is a service of transport dedicated to the people who cannot use the three other systems because of a handicap.

Personalities

Born in Miami:

Living in Miami:

Twinnings

See too

Random links:Mornay-Berry | Bubble heart-brain | Park of Choisy-the-King | Shawinigan-south | Jose Lopez Maeso

© 2007-2008 speedlook.com; article text available under the terms of GFDL, from fr.wikipedia.org