Broward County, Florida

Broward County, Florida
Logo
Location in the state of Florida
Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded	April 30, 1915
Named for	Napoleon Bonaparte Broward
Seat	Fort Lauderdale
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,319.63 sq mi (3,418 km²) 1,205.40 sq mi (3,122 km²) 114.24 sq mi (296 km²), 8.66%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	1,748,066 1,451/sq mi (560.1/km²)
Website	www.broward.org

Broward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2010, the population was 1,748,066; making it the second most populated county in the state.^[1] Its county seat is Fort Lauderdale.^[2]

It is also the eighteenth most populous county in the United States and one of three counties that comprise the South Florida metropolitan area.

History

County logo.

Broward County was created in 1915. It was named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909. It was to have been originally named Everglades County, but then Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Ion Farris amended the bill that formed the county to honor Broward.^[3] In 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create Broward County. At its inception, Broward County was considered a leader in agriculture products and services within the State of Florida. The massive post-World War II buildup of the South Florida region transformed the region. It was one of the counties at the center of the 2000 U.S. Presidential election recount controversy. In 2002, it began an aggressive campaign of placing surveillance cameras along highways and traffic lights. Critics contend the cameras violate drivers' due process rights and two separate lawsuits have been filed over their use, one in Aventura filed in February, and one in Temple Terrace near Tampa, filed at the end of July.^[4]

Points of interest

Broward boasts some notable attractions. The Museum of Discovery and Science is located in Ft. Lauderdale. The International Swimming Hall of Fame is located near the Atlantic Ocean in Fort Lauderdale. The International Game Fish Association has the Hall of Fame for Sport Fishing in Dania Beach. Flamingo Gardens is a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary. Butterfly World is located in Coconut Creek. Sawgrass Mills, a large shopping mall, is located in Sunrise. Also, the NHL's Florida Panthers play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. There are also multiple entrances to Everglades parks. In Pompano Beach is the Festival Flea Market Mall, America's largest indoor flea market. The African-American Research Library & Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale boasts more than 75,000 books and materials on the experiences of people of African descent in the Caribbean, Central and South America and the United States.^[5]

Geography

Physical geography

Broward County has an average elevation of six feet (1.8 m) above sea level. It is rather new geologically and located 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.^[6] Broward is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene.

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,319.63 square miles (3,417.8 km²), of which 1,205.40 square miles (3,122.0 km²) (or 91.34%) is land and 114.24 square miles (295.9 km²) (or 8.66%) is water.^[7] Of developable land in Broward County, approximately 471 square miles (1,219.9 km²), the majority is built upon, as the urban area is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Everglades National Park 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 an environmental disaster.^[8]

Adjacent counties

• Palm Beach County, Florida - north
• Miami-Dade County, Florida - south
• Collier County, Florida - west
• Hendry County, Florida - northwest

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1920	5,135		—
1930	20,094		291.3%
1940	39,794		98.0%
1950	83,933		110.9%
1960	333,946		297.9%
1970	620,100		85.7%
1980	1,018,200		64.2%
1990	1,255,488		23.3%
2000	1,623,018		29.3%
2010	1,748,066		7.7%

2000 Census

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile (520/km²). There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile (237/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.57% White (58% were Non-Hispanic),^[10] 20.54% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.00% from other races, and 3.35% from two or more races. 16.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In relation to ancestry, 9.4% were Italian, 7.4% American, 6.8% German, 6.7% Irish, and 4% English ancestry according to Census 2000. Furthermore, about 5.0% were Jamaican and 4.0% Haitian alone, so 10.6% were generically West Indian.^[11]

Broward is the only county in the nation outside the Northeast in which Italian-Americans formed the largest ethnic group in 2000. They are concentrated mainly in the Pompano Beach area.

410,387 residents of Broward County, or 25.3 percent of the total population, were foreign-born (45% of whom were naturalized citizens),^[11] of which 60,241 of these were born in Jamaica, 47,445 in Haiti, 32,572 in Cuba, 12,776 in Peru, 9,189 in the United Kingdom, and 9,015 in the Dominican Republic.

There were 654,445 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,691, and the median income for a family was $50,531. Males had a median income of $36,741 versus $28,529 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,170. About 8.7% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

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.^[12] Ironically, without the implementation of the new testing campaign, the reported numbers of new diagnoses would have probably been lower.

Languages

As of 2000, 71.27% of all residents spoke English as their first language, while 16.33% spoke Spanish, 3.51% French Creole, 1.77% French, 1.13% Portuguese, 0.89% Italian, and 0.56% of the population spoke German as their mother language. In total, 28.72% of the population spoke languages other than English at home.^[13]

With the huge influx of immigrants since 2000, these figures have become outdated. However, since so many of them are coming from the Anglophone Caribbean, where English is spoken, the change is not as fast as the rate of immigration would suggest.^{[citation needed]}

2010 Census Report

U.S. Census Bureau 2010 Ethnic/Race Demographics:^[14]

• White (non-Hispanic): 43.5%
• Black (non-Hispanic): 26.7%
• Hispanic or Latino of any race: 25.1%
• Asian: 3.2% (1.2% Indian, 0.6% Chinese, 0.4% Filipino, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.2% Pakistani, 0.1% Korean)
• Two or more races: 2.9%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.3%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%

According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census of 2009,^[15] the total population of Broward County had risen to almost 1.8 million people (1,754,846), and increased by 10.1% between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2006. This number is accounted for by an increase to 426,310 (25.5%) in its black population and an increase to 408,543 (24.0%) of its non-black Hispanic population. A significant portion of the black population has resulted from immigration, of whom are mainly Afro-Caribbeans/West Indians. Some Afro-Latinos and Afro-Brazilians might also classify themselves as only black. More black foreigners immigrated to Broward County between 2001 and 2005 than any other county in the United States. Also, 52,506 (3.1%) of Broward County's population is Asian, which is a higher figure than that of most counties in the state.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Broward County Schools currently has the sixth largest school district in the country and the second largest in the state after Miami-Dade.

Colleges and universities

• The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
• Broward College
• Nova Southeastern University
• DeVry University
• Keiser University
• University of Phoenix
• Technological University of America ^[16]

Public libraries

Broward County Library is one of the largest public library systems in the country, composed of 37 branch locations.

Community services

Community services in Broward County include Women in Distress (WID), a nationally accredited, state-certified, full service domestic violence center. WID works in partnership with the Broward County Sheriff's Office.^[17]

Government

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. Each Commissioner must be a resident of the district for which he or she seeks 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 5:00 p.m. the following Sunday. Meetings can also be viewed via webcasting at www.broward.org.

Cities, towns, villages, and unincorporated areas

Incorporated

Municipality populations are based on the 2010 Census.^[18]

#	Incorporated Community	Designation	Date incorporated	Population
2	Coconut Creek	City	01967-02-20 February 20, 1967	52,909
26	Cooper City	City	01959-06-20 June 20, 1959	28,547
4	Coral Springs	City	01963-06-10 June 10, 1963	121,096
23	Dania Beach	City	01904-11 November 1904	29,639
22	Davie	Town	01925-11-16 November 16, 1925	91,992
3	Deerfield Beach	City	01925-06-11 June 11, 1925	75,018
16	Fort Lauderdale	City	01911-03-27 March 27, 1911	165,521
31	Hallandale Beach	City	01927-05-14 May 14, 1927	37,113
8	Hillsboro Beach	Town	01939-06-12 June 12, 1939	1,875
24	Hollywood	City	01925-11-28 November 28, 1925	140,768
11	Lauderdale-by-the-Sea	Town	01947-11-30 November 30, 1947	6,056
17	Lauderdale Lakes	City	01961-06-22 June 22, 1961	32,593
18	Lauderhill	City	01959-06-20 June 20, 1959	66,887
15	Lazy Lake	Village	01953 1953	24
7	Lighthouse Point	City	01956-06-13 June 13, 1956	10,344
5	Margate	City	01961-06-22 June 22, 1961	53,284
28	Miramar	City	01955-05-26 May 26, 1955	122,041
10	North Lauderdale	City	01963-06-10 June 10, 1963	41,023
13	Oakland Park	City	01929-06-19 June 19, 1929	41,363
1	Parkland	City	01963-07-10 July 10, 1963	23,962
30	Pembroke Park	Town	01957-12-10 December 10, 1957	6,102
27	Pembroke Pines	City	01960 1960	154,750
20	Plantation	City	01953-04-30 April 30, 1953	84,955
6	Pompano Beach	City	01947 1947	99,845
12	Sea Ranch Lakes	Village	01959 1959	670
25	Southwest Ranches	Town	02000-07-25 July 25, 2000	7,345
19	Sunrise	City	01961 1961	84,439
9	Tamarac	City	01963-08-15 August 15, 1963	60,427
29	West Park	City	02005-03-01 March 1, 2005	14,156
21	Weston	City	01996 1996	65,333
14	Wilton Manors	City	01947 1947	11,632

Neighborhoods in incorporated areas (and recently annexed census-designated places)

• Bonnie Loch-Woodsetter North in Pompano Beach.
• Broadview-Pompano Park in North Lauderdale.
• Broward Estates in Lauderhill.
• Carver Ranches in West Park.
• Chambers Estates in Dania Beach.
• Chula Vista Isles in Fort Lauderdale.
• Collier Manor-Cresthaven in Pompano Beach.
• Country Estates in Southwest Ranches.
• Crystal Lake in Pompano Beach.
• Edgewater in Dania Beach.
• Estates of Fort Lauderdale in Dania Beach, and partially in Hollywood.
• Godfrey Road in Parkland.
• Golden Heights in Fort Lauderdale.
• Green Meadow in Southwest Ranches.
• Hacienda Village in Davie.
• Ivanhoe Estates in Southwest Ranches.
• Kendall Green in Pompano Beach.
• Lake Forest in West Park.
• Leisureville in Pompano Beach.
• Loch Lomond in Pompano Beach.
• Melrose Park in Fort Lauderdale.
• Miami Gardens in West Park.
• North Andrews Gardens in Oakland Park.
• Oak Point in Hollywood.
• Palm Aire in Fort Lauderdale.
• Pine Island Ridge in Davie.
• Pompano Beach Highlands in Pompano Beach.
• Pompano Estates in Pompano Beach.
• Ravenswood Estates in Dania Beach.
• Ramblewood East in Coral Springs.
• Riverland Village in Fort Lauderdale.
• Rock Island in Fort Lauderdale.
• Rolling Oaks in Southwest Ranches.
• Royal Palm Ranches in Cooper City.
• Tedder in Pompano Beach.
• St. George in Lauderhill.
• Sunshine Ranches in Southwest Ranches.
• Terra Mar in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and partially in Pompano Beach.
• Twin Lakes North of Prospect Road, in Fort Lauderdale. South of Prospect Road, in Oakland Park.
• Utopia in West Park.
• Village Park in North Lauderdale.
• West Ken-Lark in Lauderhill.

Unincorporated areas and census-designated places

• Andytown
• Boulevard Gardens
• Broadview Park
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
• Franklin Park
• Hillsboro Pines
• Hillsboro Ranches
• Roosevelt Gardens
• Sunshine Acres
• Washington Park

Economy

Bimini Island Air and Locair have their headquarters on the grounds of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in an unincorporated area.^[19][20][21] When Chalk's International Airlines existed, its headquarters was on the grounds of the airport in an unincorporated area.^[22]

Politics

Over the past fifty years, Broward County has gone from solidly Republican to solidly Democratic. In the 1972 U.S. presidential election, Broward County residents voted overwhelmingly for Richard Nixon over George McGovern. From the 1992 U.S. presidential election onward, however, voters of Broward County backed the Democratic presidential nominee over the Republican nominee by strong majorities. Broward County is now the most reliably Democratic county in the state,^[23][24] with the exception of the much less populous Gadsden County. This change in voting tendencies is most likely due to the continuous flow from large migrations of snowbirds and transplanted people from the liberal Northeast and other blue states, as well as a growing LGBT community, and also naturalized U.S. citizens born in places such as Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

Presidential elections results

Year	Republican	Democrat
2008	32.3% 225,453	67.2% 474,579
2004	34.6% 244,674	64.2% 453,873
2000	30.9% 177,939	67.4% 387,760
1996	28.3% 142,870	63.5% 320,779
1992	30.9% 164,832	51.8% 276,361
1988	50.0% 220,316	49.5% 218,274
1984	56.7% 254,608	43.3% 194,584
1980	55.9% 229,693	35.6% 146,323
1976	47.1% 161,411	51.6% 176,491
1972	72.4% 196,528	27.3% 74,127
1968	54.5% 106,122	29.1% 56,613
1964	55.5% 85,264	44.5% 68,406
1960	58.8% 68,294	41.2% 47,811

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 and Hallandale.

Major Freeways and Tollways

• Interstate 95/State Road 9
• Interstate 75/Florida State Road 93
• Interstate 595
• _ Florida's Turnpike
• _ Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (State Road 821)
• Sawgrass Expressway (State Road 869)

Railroads

• Tri-rail and Amtrak run through Broward.

Airports

• Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport
• North Perry Airport
• Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
• Pompano Beach Airpark

Public transportation

• Broward County Transit
• Tri-Rail

Greenways System

Construction is underway on a network of recreational trails to connect cities and points of interest in the county.^[25][26][27]

See also

Miami portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Broward County, Florida

References

1. ^ http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ Reese, J. H (16 May 1913). "Carved from Dade County". The Weekly Miami Metropolis (Miami, Florida): p. 7. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dI4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XOoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3650,4363848&dq=ion-farris&hl=en. Retrieved 8 September 2010. 
4. ^ "Trials : Trials News and Photos - South Florida". Sun-sentinel.com. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/sfl-pembroke-pines-red-light-camera,0,7750984.story. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
5. ^ "African American Research Library : African American Research Library News and Photos - South Florida". Sun-sentinel.com. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/arts-culture/libraries-museums/african-american-research-library-PLCUL000114.topic#. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
6. ^ Notes on Florida Geography, Florida International University
7. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
8. ^ Updated 56 minutes ago (2007-02-16). "Tire reef off Florida proves a disaster - U.S. news - Environment - msnbc.com". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17189132/. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
9. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
10. ^ "Demographics of Broward County, FL". MuniNetGuide.com. http://www.muninetguide.com/states/florida/Broward.php. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Broward County, FL Detailed Profile". city-data.com. http://www.city-data.com/county/Broward_County-FL.html. Retrieved 2008-06-05. 
12. ^ "What's New at The Body, November 23, 2005". Thebody.com. http://www.thebody.com/updates/2005-11-23.html. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
13. ^ "Modern Language Association Data Center Results, Broward County, Florida". Modern Language Association. http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=12&county_id=11&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 
14. ^ 2009 Broward County Demographics
15. ^ Broward County, Florida -- ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2008
16. ^ http://tuauniversity.org/
17. ^ Broward Sheriff's Office
18. ^ "See "Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - Florida County -- County Subdivision and Place"". 2010 Census. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. http://factfinder2.census.gov/. 
19. ^ "Contact Us." Locair. Retrieved on June 19, 2010.
20. ^ "Contact Us." Bimini Island Air. Retrieved on July 12, 2011. "Bimini Island Air, Inc./Ltd. 3000 NW 59 Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309"
21. ^ "Zoning Map." City of Dania Beach. Retrieved on May 12, 2010.
22. ^ "Administration." Chalk's International Airlines. Retrieved on May 12, 2010.
23. ^ State:Broward Power. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
24. ^ 2008 General Election Results. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
25. ^ "Topic Galleries - South Florida". Sun-sentinel.com. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-interstate-595-greenway-b062509,0,3474616.story. Retrieved 2010-08-01. ^{[dead link]}
26. ^ "Welcome To Broward County Greenways". Broward.org. http://www.broward.org/greenways/. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
27. ^ [1]

External links

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)
• 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)

Coordinates: 26°07′28″N 80°14′58″W / 26.124354°N 80.249503°W / 26.124354; -80.249503