Broward County is a county located in the U.S.
state of Florida
. As
of 2000, the
population is 1,623,018;
this makes it the second most populated county in the state.
According to 2007
U.S. Census estimates, its population has increased
to 1,759,591 .
Its county seat is
Fort Lauderdale,
Florida
.
It is also the sixteenth
most
populous county in the US.
Broward
County is one of three counties that comprise the South Florida
metropolitan area
.
History
.svg/180px-Broward_County_(Florida).svg)
County logo.
County was created in 1915. It was named for
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward,
Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909.
In 1915,
Palm Beach County and Dade
County
contributed nearly equal portions of land to create
Broward County. By the 1960s, Broward County was considered
a leader in agriculture products and services within the State of
Florida.
The massive buildup of the South Florida
region since the mid 1970s transformed the region,
evidenced by the closure of the last major agriculture center
within the county (Waldrep Dairy Farm
) in 2003. 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.
[11074]
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 [11075].
Geography
Physical geography
Broward County is close to sea level in elevation averaging about 6
feet 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. Broward is among the last areas of Florida
to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the
Pleistocene.
According to the
U.S.
Census Bureau, the
county has a total area of 1,320 square miles
(3,418 km²).Approximately two-thirds -- 847 square miles
(2,194 km²) -- of the county's area lies in an undeveloped
Everglades conservation area. 1,205 square miles
(3,122 km²) of the county's area is land and 114 square
miles (296 km²) of it is
water. The total
area is 8.66% water.
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.[11076]
Adjacent Counties
Demographics
2000 Census
As of the
census 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 White,) 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
.
Notably, Broward was the only county in the nation outside the
Northeast where
Italian-Americans compose the largest
ethnic group.
410,387
residents of Broward County, or 25.3 percent of the total
population, were foreign-born (45% of whom were naturalized citizens), 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
. However, in percentage form, the most common
countries of foreign-born residents included Jamaica (15%), Haiti
(12%), Cuba (8%), Colombia
(8%), Canada
(5%),
Brazil
(4%), and
Peru (3%).
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 full-blown AIDS at the same time they've been diagnosed with
HIV.
[11077] 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.
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.
2006 Census Report
U.S. Census Bureau 2006 Ethnic/Race Demographics:
According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census of
2006, the total population of Broward County had risen to almost
1.8 million people, and increased by 10.1% between April 1, 2000
and July 1, 2006. This number is accounted for by an increase to
441,678 (25.3%) in its black population and an increase to 408,335
(22.8%) of its non-black Hispanic population.
A significant portion
of the black population has resulted from immigration, of whom are mainly Afro-Caribbean/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,
54,001 (3.0%) of Broward County's population is
Asian, which
is a higher figure than that of most counties in the state.
Educational institutions
Broward
County currently has the
sixth largest school
district in the country and the second largest in the state
after Miami-Dade
.
- Broward County Library is
one of the largest public library systems in the country, composed
of 37 branch locations. Faced with having to reduce spending by up
to $160 million because of the recession, county administrators are
exploring severe cuts in community services.
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 television 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
| # |
Incorporated Community |
Designation |
Date incorporated |
Population |
| 2 |
Coconut Creek |
City |
|
49,890 |
| 26 |
Cooper City |
City |
|
30,062 |
| 4 |
Coral Springs |
City |
|
126,875 |
| 23 |
Dania Beach |
City |
|
28,831 |
| 22 |
Davie |
Town |
|
90,329 |
| 3 |
Deerfield Beach |
City |
|
76,478 |
| 16 |
Fort Lauderdale |
City |
|
183,606 |
| 31 |
Hallandale Beach |
City |
|
37,145 |
| 8 |
Hillsboro Beach |
Town |
|
2,334 |
| 24 |
Hollywood |
City |
|
141,740 |
| 17 |
Lauderdale Lakes |
City |
|
31,879 |
| 11 |
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea |
Town |
|
5,990 |
| 18 |
Lauderhill |
City |
|
67,073 |
| 15 |
Lazy Lake |
Village |
|
39 |
| 7 |
Lighthouse Point |
City |
|
11,262 |
| 5 |
Margate |
City |
|
56,002 |
| 28 |
Miramar |
City |
|
108,240 |
| 10 |
North Lauderdale |
City |
|
42,335 |
| 13 |
Oakland Park |
City |
|
42,300 |
| 1 |
Parkland |
City |
|
22,183 |
| 30 |
Pembroke Park |
Town |
|
5,487 |
| 27 |
Pembroke Pines |
City |
|
146,828 |
| 20 |
Plantation |
City |
|
86,138 |
| 6 |
Pompano Beach |
City |
|
102,745 |
| 12 |
Sea Ranch Lakes |
Village |
|
1,392 |
| 25 |
Southwest Ranches |
Town |
|
7,203 |
| 19 |
Sunrise |
City |
|
89,787 |
| 9 |
Tamarac |
City |
|
59,923 |
| 29 |
West Park |
City |
|
12,713 |
| 21 |
Weston |
City |
|
65,793 |
| 14 |
Wilton Manors |
City |
|
12,879 |
Neighborhoods in incorporated areas (and recently annexed
census-designated places)
Unincorporated areas and census-designated places
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, with the
exception of the much less populous Gadsden
County
(where African
Americans are a majority). This change in
voting tendencies is most likely due to the continuous flow from
large migration 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. citizen
born in places such as Latin America,
the Caribbean
, Canada
, Europe, Asia, and Israel
.
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
Railroads
Airports
Public Transportation
Greenways System
Construction is underway on a network of recreational trails to
connect cities and points of interest in the county.
[11078] [11079]
References
-
http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2005-01-12.xls
- Notes on Florida Geography, Florida International
University
- 2006 Broward County Demographics
- 2006 Demographics of Some Other Race
- Broward County, Florida -- ACS Demographic and
Housing Estimates: 2006
- State:Broward Power. St. Petersburg
Times Last accessed November 14, 2006.
- 2008 General Election Results. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Retrieved 2008-11-11.
External links
Government links/Constitutional offices
Special Districts
Judicial branch
Tourism links
Official sites
- The
Broward Alliance (Broward County's official public/private
partnership for economic development)