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Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located in North-Central Miami-Dade County; it stretches from I-95 and NE 2nd Street on the East, to NW 47th and NW 57th Avenues on the West, and from the Broward County line on the North, to 151st Street on the South. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to a 2011 estimate from the US Census Bureau, the city had a population of 109,680, and it is the largest city in Florida that has a majority black American population.

History
In the wake of the construction of I-95 in the late 1960s, many middle and upper income African American and West Indian American families migrated from Miami neighborhoods such as Liberty City to what became Miami Gardens (then called "Norland" or "Norwood") as restrictive covenants fell into disuse and mostly lower income blacks moved to the inner city neighborhoods surrounding Liberty Square and Edison Courts.

Miami Gardens was incorporated on May 13, 2003. The city's neighborhoods of Andover, Bunche Park, Carol City, Lake Lucerne, Norland, Opa-Locka North, and Scott Lake were previously unincorporated areas within Miami-Dade County.

In 2007, Mayor Shirley Gibson said that the city would no longer allow any low income housing developments; many residents blamed the developments for spreading crime and recreational drugs throughout the city. Around that time the city's tax revenues dropped to being the third lowest in Miami-Dade County.

In 2012, Oliver Gilbert, only the second mayor the City has had, proposed to form a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) .CRAs are formed to remove “slum and blight,” to improve the physical environment of the city and to combat the social and economic problems typical of slum areas.CRAs are funded with property tax increases, which funds are used, in part, to stimulate private investment in the rehabilitation of the community. Once inaugurated, Mayor Gilbert expressed confidence that a CRA would have the effect of stimulating economic growth in Miami Gardens and proposed to establish one.

Demographics
The city was incorporated in 2003 but many of the CDPs comprising the current city of Miami Gardens were only partially incorporated. They now make up the neighborhoods of Andover, Bunche Park, Carol City, Lake Lucerne, Norwood, Opa-Locka North, and Scott Lake. For more in-depth demographic data on these neighborhoods, their U.S. Census 2000 is available.

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Miami Gardens was 109,680 on July 1st, 2011, a 2.3% increase since the 2010

As of 2010, the age distribution was 6.9% under the age of 5, 7.1% from 5 to 9, 7.7% from 10 to 14, 17% from 15 to 24, and 13% 25 to 34, 12.9% 35 to 44, 13.3% 45 to 54, 10.8% 55 to 64 and 11.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The population is 46.8% male and 53.2% female. Family households made up 78.4%, while 21.6% were non-family households. The average household size was 3.28 members, and the city covered 20 square miles.

Bunche Park and Carol City had high percentages of various ethnic groups, such as African-Americans and black residents, Bahamians, British West Indians, Colombians, Cubans, Dominicans, Haitians, Jamaicans and Nicaraguans.

Crime Rates
According to City Rating, Miami Gardens crime statistics have decreased in the past 7 years. The crimes that have decreased the most are property crimes and violent crimes. Until now, the crime rate for Miami Gardens for 2012 is expected to be lower than in 2010. Miami Garden’s city violent crime rate was higher than the national violent crime rate at an average of 138.67%. City property crime rate was also higher than the national property crime rate on an average of 66.98%.

In 2010 Miami Garden’s city violent crime rate was higher than the violent crime rate in Florida by 77.64% and the city property crime rate was higher in Florida by 38.05%.

In 2010, there were 663 reported cases of aggravated assault, 12 reported cases if arson, 1,321 reported cases of burglary, 25 cases of forcible rape, 3,515 case of larceny and theft, 574 reported cases of motor vehicle theft 22 reported cases of murder and manslaughter and 351 cases of robbery.

The projected 2012 crime data is as follows: 253 reported cases of aggravated assault, 0 reported cases of arson, 1,760 reported cases of burglary, 6 cases reported of forcible rape, 3,535 cases reported of larceny and theft, 489 cases report of motor vehicle theft, 30 reported cases of murder and manslaughter and 357 reported cases of robbery.

Community Centers
Miami Gardens is home to the Miami Dolphins, who play in Sun Life Stadium on land that was part of the Lake Lucerne CDP. Sun Life Stadium also hosts the annual Orange Bowl college football game and is the home field for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. The Major League Baseball team Florida Marlins previously shared Sun Life Stadium with the Dolphins for almost 2 decades. In 2012 they relocated to Miami and changed their names to the Miami Marlins. Calder Race Course is also located in the city. The Antioch Mission Baptist Church of Miami Gardens is a megachurch with over 7,500 members, active in the community.

Commercial
Miami Gardens now hosts new national franchise locations – including two Wal-Mart, a Chili’s and a Mercedes-Benz dealership .The City wishes to attract more commercial investment to stimulate economic growth.



Medical
The city of Miami Gardens have several health care clinics and facilities that offer medical care and support to its residents. Even though the city has no hospital directly within the city’s limits; Jackson North Medical Center, Concentra Urgent Care, and, Chen Medical Center, provide numerous medical services to the residents of Miami Gardens. Supplementing the care of the residents of the city, several health care clinics and facilities provide medical services that include; general medicine, walk-in/urgent care, dental services, gynecology, physical therapy, chiropractor services, laboratory tests, x-rays, sonograms, osteoporosis screening, vaccinations, and, health and exercise programs.

Government
Miami Gardens is governed by a seven member City Council. Members include Mayor Oliver Gilbert (since 2012), and six Council members, four of whom are elected from districts and two who are elected city wide. The Mayor recommends, and the City Council hires, the City Manager, City Attorney and the City Clerk. 15 of the many departments the City Manger of Miami Gardens creates a budget for.

Mayors

 * Shirley Gibson 2003-2012
 * Oliver G. Gilbert III 2012-present

Police
The Miami Gardens Police Department is the lead law enforcement agency for the 110,000 residents living within the City's 20 square miles. The department operates under a unified command structure with its headquarters located at 1020 NW 163 Drive, Miami Gardens, Florida 33169. The department became operational on Sunday, December 16, 2007 with 159 sworn officers. Since then, the department has grown to 259 members consisting of 201 sworn positions with an equally important 58 non-sworn support positions ..

Colleges and universities
St. Thomas University and Florida Memorial University are in Miami Gardens.

Public libraries
Miami-Dade Public Library System operates the North Dade Regional Library. The library opened in September 1979.

Surrounding areas

 * Broward County (Miramar)
 * Broward County (Miramar) [[Image:Up arrow left.svg|20px|]] [[Image:Up-1.svg|20px]] [[Image:Up arrow right.svg|20px]] Broward County
 * Country Club, Miami Lakes [[Image:Left.svg|20px]] [[Image:Right.svg|20px]] Ives Estates, Ojus, North Miami Beach, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County
 * Miami Lakes [[Image:Down arrow left.svg|20px]] [[Image:Down arrow.svg|20px]] [[Image:Down arrow right.svg|20px]] Unincorporated Miami-Dade County
 * Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, North Miami Beach