Miami is a major city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, and the most populous county in Florida. With a population of 433,136, it is the principal, central, and the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States.
Miami is a major center and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade.In 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked thirty-third among global cities.
In 2008, Miami was ranked as “America’s Cleanest City” according to Forbes Magazine for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets and city-wide recycling programs. Downtown Miami and South Florida are home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, and is home to many large companies both nationally and internationally.
For more than two decades, the Port of Miami, known as the “Cruise Capital of the World” is the number one cruise passenger port in the world accommodating some of the largest cruise ships in the world, and operations and is the busiest in both passenger traffic and cruise lines.
The Miami area was first inhabited for more than one thousand years by the Tequestas, but was later claimed for Spain in 1566 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. A Spanish mission was constructed one year later in 1567. In 1836, Fort Dallas was built, and the Miami area subsequently became a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War.
Miami holds the distinction of being “the only major city in the United States conceived by a woman, Julia Tuttle,” who was a local citrus grower and a wealthy Cleveland native. The Miami area was better known as “Biscayne Bay Country” in the early years of its growth. Some published reports described the area as a promising wilderness. The area was also characterized as “one of the finest building sites in Florida.” The Great Freeze of 1894–1895 hastened Miami’s growth, as the crops of the Miami area were the only ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railroad to the region, for which she became known as “the mother of Miami.” Miami was officially incorporated as a city on July 28, 1896 with a population of just over 300.
Miami prospered during the 1920s with an increase in population and infrastructure but weakened after the collapse of the Florida land boom of the 1920s, the 1926 Miami Hurricane and the Great Depression in the 1930s. When World War II began, Miami, well-situated due to its location on the southern coast of Florida, played an important role in the battle against German submarines. The war helped to expand Miami’s population; by 1940, 172,172 people lived in the city. In the latter half of the 20th century, Miami became a major international, financial, and cultural center.
Brickell Avenue is home to the largest concentration of international banks in the U.S.
The ongoing high-rise construction in Miami, has inspired popular opinion of “Miami manhattanization”.
The Port of Miami is the world’s largest cruise ship port, and is the headquarters of many of the world’s largest cruise companies. Several large companies are headquartered in or around Miami,
Since 2001, Miami has been undergoing a large building boom with more than 50 skyscrapers rising over 400 feet (122 m) built or currently under construction in the city. Miami’s skyline is ranked third most impressive in the U.S., behind New York City and Chicago.
Miami International Airport and the Port of Miami are among the nation’s busiest ports of entry, especially for cargo from South America and the Caribbean. Additionally, Downtown has the largest concentration of international banks in the country located mostly in Brickell, Miami’s financial district. Miami was also the host city of the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations, and is one of the leading candidates to become the trading bloc’s headquarters. Tourism is also an important industry in Miami. The beaches, conventions, festivals and events draw over 12 million visitors annually from across the country and around the world, spending $17.1 billion.[28] The historical Art Deco district in South Beach, is widely regarded[citation needed] as one of the most glamorous in the world for its nightclubs, beaches, historical buildings, and shopping. However, it is important to note that Miami Beach is a separate city from the City of Miami.
Miami is the home to the National Hurricane Center and the headquarters of the United States Southern Command, responsible for military operations in Central and South America. In addition to these roles, Miami is also an industrial center, especially for stone quarrying and warehousing. See Wikipedia for additional information.
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