Broward County, Florida

Broward County is a county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with 1,944,375 residents as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Fort Lauderdale, which had a population of 182,760 as of 2020. The county is part of the South Florida region of the state.

Broward County is one of the three counties that make up the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to 6.14 million people as of 2020. It is also one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the entire country. As of 2022, Broward County has a gross domestic product of $124.8 billion, the second-largest GDP of Florida's 67 counties and the 25th-largest for the nation's 3,033 counties.

Native people
The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region came from about 12,000 years ago. The first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami River, with the main villages on the northern banks.

The inhabitants at the time of first European contact were the Tequesta people, who controlled much of southeastern Florida, including what is now Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and the southern part of Palm Beach County. The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did not practice any form of agriculture. They buried the small bones of the deceased with the rest of the body, and put the larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle.

Founding of Broward
Broward County was founded on April 30, 1915. It was intended to be named Everglades County, but then-Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Ion Farris amended the bill that established the county to name it in honor of Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909.

Throughout his term as governor, Broward championed Everglades drainage and was remembered for his campaign to turn the Everglades into "useful land". This opened up much of today's urban Broward County for development, first as agricultural land and later as residential. A year before Broward became governor, Dania became the first incorporated community of what is now Broward County, followed by Pompano in 1908, and Fort Lauderdale in 1911.

In 1915, Palm Beach and Dade counties contributed nearly equal portions of land to create Broward County.

Broward County began a huge development boom after its incorporation, with the first "tourist hotel", in Fort Lauderdale, opening in 1919. A year later, developers began dredging wetlands in the county to create island communities.

Land boom and rapid growth
By 1925, the boom was considered to have reached its peak, but the 1926 Miami hurricane caused economic depression in the county. The county saw another population and development boom post-World War II when the transformation from agricultural to urbanized residential area began.

In 1967, Coconut Creek was incorporated.

The effects of a national recession hit the county in 1974 and the population growth finally slowed. This is from a peak growth percentage change of 297.9% which saw the population of Broward grow from 83,933 as of 1950 to 333,946 in 1960. The population subsequently experienced an 85.7% population growth which brought the population to a total of 620,100 in 1970.

Recent history
The structure of the Broward County government was signed into law in 1975 with the passage of the Broward County charter. In the same year, the Seminole Tribe of Florida incorporated as a governing entity and began organizing cigarette sales, bingo and land leases that will bring millions of dollars in annual revenue in later years. In 1976, Interstate 95 was completed through Broward County.

On January 19, 1977, snow fell in South Florida for the first time in recorded history. Snow was seen across all of South Florida as far south as Homestead and even on Miami Beach. Snow was officially reported by weather observers in West Palm Beach, LaBelle, Hollywood, and Royal Palm Ranger Station in southern Miami-Dade County.

In the year 1980, the US census reported over 1 million people living in Broward County.

On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew passed through Broward County County, causing $100 million in damage in the county and leaving many residents homeless.

In the year 2000, the US census reported a total population of 1,623,018. The town of South West Ranches was incorporated this year.

On March 1, 2005, West Park became Broward County's 31st municipality to be incorporated.

On October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida leaving the entire area damaged and causing almost universal power outages. Wilma was the most damaging storm in Broward County since Hurricane King in 1950. Broward experienced wind speeds between 80 and 100 mph which endured for about five hours.

On February 14, 2018, the city of Parkland became the scene of a deadly mass shooting perpetrated by a 19-year-old former student of Stoneman Douglas High School. The trial of the perpetrator of the shooting, Nikolas Cruz, was held at the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Broward County in 2022 with Judge Elizabeth Scherer presiding. Cruz was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

In June 2020, following the George Floyd protests, some residents called for the county to be renamed due to Governor Broward's support for segregation and the Back-to-Africa movement.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1323 sqmi, of which 1210 sqmi is land and 113 sqmi (8.5%) is water.

Broward County has an average elevation of 6 ft above sea level. It is rather new geologically and at the eastern edge of the Florida Platform, a carbonate plateau created millions of years ago. Broward County is composed of Oolite limestone while western Broward is composed mostly of Bryozoa. Broward is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene.

Of developable land in Broward County, approximately 471 sqmi, the majority is built upon, as the urban area is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Everglades Wildlife Management Area to the west. Within developable land, Broward County has a population density of 3,740 per square mile (1,444 per square kilometer).

Broward approved the construction of Osborne Reef, an artificial reef made of tires off the Fort Lauderdale beach, but it has proven to be an environmental disaster.

Adjacent counties

 * Palm Beach County - north
 * Miami-Dade County - south
 * Collier County - west
 * Hendry County - northwest

Demographics
As of 2005, Broward County led the nation's metropolitan areas in new AIDS diagnoses, with a reported rate 58.4 new AIDS diagnoses per 100,000 people. County officials think the numbers may stem from a new and successful HIV testing campaign that has resulted in many people being diagnosed with AIDS at the same time they've been diagnosed with HIV. Without the implementation of the new testing campaign, the reported numbers of new diagnoses would have probably been lower.

Broward County Mayors
The Broward County Charter provides for a separation between the legislative and administrative functions of government. The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative branch of Broward County Government. The County Commission is composed of nine members elected by district. Commissioners must be a resident of the district where they seek election. Each year the Commission elects a mayor and vice mayor. The mayor's functions include serving as presiding officer, and as the county's official representative. The Commission appoints the County Administrator, County Attorney and County Auditor. The commission also appoints numerous advisory and regulatory boards.

The County Commission meets in formal session the first four Tuesdays of each month at 10:00 a.m. in Room 422 of the Broward County Governmental Center. Over 507,000 cable subscribers in Broward County have access to Government-access television (GATV) coverage of Commission meetings, which are broadcast live beginning at 10:00 a.m. each Tuesday, and rebroadcast at 5:30 p.m. the following Friday. Meetings can also be viewed via webcasting at www.broward.org.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) has 5,400 employees, and is the largest sheriff's department in Florida. The BSO was founded in 1915. Sheriff Gregory Tony has been the Sheriff heading the agency since 2019, when he replaced Sheriff Scott Israel, who had been Sheriff since 2013.

Overview
Broward County has been a Democratic stronghold since 1992, voting for the Party's presidential nominee in every election since then. It is now considered one of the most reliably Democratic counties in the state, giving greater than 60% support to the party nominee in every election since 1996. From 1948 to 1988, the county leaned Republican, voting for the Republican nominee in every election except 1976, even supporting Republican Barry Goldwater by a 56-44 margin while he lost the national election in a landslide. Unlike Miami-Dade County to the south, where many of the immigrants are Republican-leaning Cuban-Americans, Cubans comprise only a small proportion of the immigrant population in Broward County.

Voter registration
According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats maintain a plurality among registered voters in Broward County. The county is also one of the few counties in the state where Independents outnumber Republicans.

Ordinances
Broward's code of ordinances consists of resolutions, administrative rules and regulations passed in order to secure a responsive and efficient form of local government.

The county maintains a distinctive rule regarding communication between the county and bidders for county contracts, known as the Cone of Silence. This rule prevents staff involved in a purchasing process from communicating with bidders from the time when the solicitation is issued, and County Commissioners from the time when bids are opened, until the vote to award the contract or the time when all bids are rejected.

Economy
Silver Airways has its headquarters on the property of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in an unincorporated area. Other companies with headquarters in unincorporated areas include Locair.

Spirit Airlines has its headquarters in Miramar.

When Chalk's International Airlines existed, its headquarters was on the grounds of the airport in an unincorporated area. When Bimini Island Air existed, its headquarters were in an unincorporated area.

By far the largest agricultural sector is nurseries, greenhouses, floricultures, and sod. This supplies ornamental uses in the area.

Primary and secondary schools
Broward County Schools, the sole school district in the county, has the sixth largest school district in the country and the second largest in the state after the Miami-Dade district.

Regionally accredited colleges and universities

 * Broward College
 * Florida Atlantic University (Branch campuses)
 * Nova Southeastern University
 * Keiser University

Other adult education providers

 * DeVry University
 * University of Phoenix
 * The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
 * Florida Career College
 * Brown Mackie College
 * Atlantic Technical Center and Technical High School
 * McFatter Technical College and Technical High School
 * Sheridan Technical College and Technical High School

Public libraries
The Broward County Library is one of the largest public library systems in the country, comprising 38 branch locations. There are also five municipal public libraries in the county that are not part of the Broward County Library system: Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library, Lighthouse Point Library, Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library, Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors, and Parkland Public Library.

Library Resources
Broward County libraries provide endless amount of resources to the public. For high-schoolers looking to prepare themselves for college, the library offers college readiness & SAT/ACT prep courses. For adults looking to learn computer skills, adult computer classes are also offered. These resources are free of cost, therefore, all it takes is registering to participate. In addition to the many resources offered at the library, bus passes are also sold at most Broward County libraries. If you want to enjoy some of these resources, you can simply download the app to utilize them on the go. There are nine apps available for download: Broward County Library (BCL WoW), Freegal Music, Hoopla, Overdrive, Libby, Axis 360, RBdigital Magazines, Rosetta Stone, and Brainfuse.

Museums and historical collections

 * African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, Fort Lauderdale
 * Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, Fort Lauderdale
 * Coral Springs Museum of Art, Coral Springs
 * Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum, Fort Lauderdale
 * Fort Lauderdale History Center, Fort Lauderdale
 * Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum, Fort Lauderdale
 * NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale
 * Plantation Historical Museum, Plantation
 * Stranahan House, Fort Lauderdale
 * The International Game Fish Association, including the Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, Dania Beach
 * The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Fort Lauderdale
 * The Museum of Discovery and Science, Fort Lauderdale
 * Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts, Dania Beach
 * Young at Art Museum, Davie

Nature and wildlife areas

 * Anne Kolb Nature Center, Hollywood
 * Butterfly World, a botanical sanctuary in Coconut Creek
 * Everglades Holiday Park, featuring airboat rides and alligator shows
 * Fern Forest Nature Center, Coconut Creek
 * Flamingo Gardens, a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary
 * Secret Woods Nature Center, Dania Beach
 * Sawgrass Recreation ParkEvergladesairboattour.jpg

Other areas and attractions

 * Beach Place, a strip of stores, restaurants, and bars across the street from the beach along the Atlantic coast, in Fort Lauderdale
 * Broward Center for the Performing Arts
 * Hollywood Beach Broadwalk
 * Florida Grand Opera
 * Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop (colloquially known to locals as simply the Swap Shop)
 * Sawgrass Mills, a large outlet shopping mall in Sunrise
 * Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, where the NHL's Florida Panthers play their games
 * The Festival Flea Market Mall in Pompano Beach, America's largest indoor flea market
 * Riverwalk (Fort Lauderdale)

Additionally, with 23 miles of beach, Broward County is a popular destination for scuba diving, snorkeling, and droves of young Spring break tourists from around the world.

Airports
Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport serves as the primary airport of the Broward County area. The airport is bounded by the cities Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Dania Beach, 3 mi southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale and 21 mi north of Miami. The airport is near cruise line terminals at Port Everglades and is popular among tourists bound for the Caribbean. Since the late 1990s, FLL has become an intercontinental gateway, although Miami International Airport still handles most long-haul flights. FLL is ranked as the 19th busiest airport (in terms of passenger traffic) in the United States, as well as the nation's 14th busiest international air gateway and one of the world's 50 busiest airports. FLL is classified by the US Federal Aviation Administration as a "major hub" facility serving commercial air traffic. In 2017 the airport processed 32,511,053 passengers (11.3% more than 2016) including 7,183,275 international passengers (18.6% more than 2016).
 * North Perry Airport
 * Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
 * Pompano Beach Airpark
 * Downtown Fort Lauderdale Heliport

Public transportation

 * Broward County Transit
 * Sun Trolley

Major expressways

 * I-95.svg Interstate 95
 * I-75.svg Interstate 75
 * I-595.svg Interstate 595 (Port Everglades Expressway)
 * Florida's Turnpike shield.svg Florida's Turnpike (SR 91)
 * Florida's Turnpike shield.svg Homestead Extension (SR 821)
 * Toll Florida 869.svg State Road 869 (Sawgrass Expressway)

Railroads

 * Passenger services: Amtrak, Brightline, and Tri-Rail
 * Freight services: Florida East Coast Railway and CSX Transportation

Street grid
A street grid stretches throughout Broward County. Most of this grid is loosely based on three primary eastern municipalities, (from South to North) Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach. Deerfield Beach—another primary eastern municipality—has its own street grid, as do two smaller municipalities—Dania Beach and Hallandale Beach.

Greenways System
Construction is underway on a network of recreational trails to connect cities and points of interest in the county.

Municipalities
Municipality populations are based on the 2020 US Census using their QuickFacts with 5,000 residents and above, while municipalities under 5,000 people are based on their US Decennial Census.

Former unincorporated neighborhoods
In the 1980s, the Broward County Commission adopted a policy of having all populated places in the county be part of a municipality. Municipalities were often reluctant to annex neighborhoods which were not projected to yield enough tax revenue to cover the costs of providing services to those neighborhoods. In 2001 the Broward County Legislative Delegation adopted a policy encouraging the annexation of all unincorporated areas in Broward County into municipalities by October 1, 2005. Formerly unincorporated neighborhoods that have been annexed into existing municipalities or combined to form new municipalities include:

Remaining unincorporated neighborhoods
By late in the first decade of the 21st century, annexation of remaining neighborhoods had stalled. the Broward County Municipal Services District serves seven unincorporated neighborhoods, including six census designated places (Boulevard Gardens, Broadview Park, Franklin Park, Hillsboro Pines, Roosevelt Gardens and Washington Park) and a parcel with a population of 72 in 2018, Hillsboro Ranches. Other areas in the developed part of the county that are not in municipalities include the Hollywood Seminole Indian Reservation, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, several landfills and resource recovery facilities, and other scattered small parcels with few or no residents.

Government links/Constitutional offices

 * Broward County Government / Board of County Commissioners
 * Broward County Supervisor of Elections
 * Broward County Property Appraiser
 * Broward County Sheriff's Office

Special districts

 * Broward County Public Schools
 * Broward Health (formerly North Broward Hospital District)
 * South Broward Hospital District(Memorial Healthcare System)
 * Broward Soil and Water Conservation District
 * South Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

 * Broward County Clerk of Courts
 * Broward County Clerk of Courts Records
 * Broward County Public Defender
 * Broward State Attorney's Office, 17th Judicial Circuit
 * Circuit and County Court for the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links

 * Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau
 * The Waterfront News local newspaper for Broward County, Florida fully and openly available in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library

Official sites

 * The Broward Alliance (Broward County's official public/private partnership for economic development)