Broward County, Florida

History

Although the area has been settled since about 1400 B.C., Broward County was founded on October 1, 1915. It was named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909, remembered for his campaign to turn the Everglades into "useful land". It was originally 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 be named after Broward. In 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County 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 in order to create island communities. By 1925, the boom was considered to have reached its peak, but a 1926 hurricane caused economic depression in the county. The structure of county government was signed into law in 1975 with the passage of the Broward County charter.

At its inception, Broward County was considered a leader in agricultural products and services within the State of Florida, but the massive post-World War II buildup of South Florida transformed the region. It was one of the counties at the center of the 2000 U.S. Presidential election recount controversy.

From 2008 to 2011, Broward County led the nation in new HIV/AIDS diagnoses, according to federal health officials. The per capita cases of new infections in Broward has not decreased in over a decade, prompting government health agencies to direct more funding to AIDS prevention campaigns in Broward. During that time period, Dade County was ranked number two nationally for the epidemic. However, as of January 31, 2014, those statistics have reversed, though not dramatically enough to be called an improvement. Some communities in the area have been affected disproportionately, with 48% of the afflicted being in black communities. In Broward County, sexual education in public schools is not mandatory and the curriculum that is employed sporadically has not been updated in ten years or more, according to school officials. In 2013, the Broward County School Board held a vote to require schools to teach sex-ed at least once a year for every grade, a program slated to begin in the 2014-2015 school year if passed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,323 square miles (3,430 km²), of which 1,210 square miles (3,100 km²) is land and 113 square miles (290 km²) (8.5%) is water.

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. 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 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 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 an environmental disaster.

Adjacent counties

2010 Census

U.S. Census Bureau 2010 Ethnic/Race Demographics:

In 2010, 4.7% of the population considered themselves to be of only "American" ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity.)

As of 2010, Haitians made up the largest population of immigrants, with Jamaicans coming in second, Colombians in third, followed by Cuban exiled refugees in fourth place, then Peruvians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Dominicans, Canadians, and Mexicans being the tenth highest group of expatriates.

There were 810,388 households out of which 28.61% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.80% were married couples living together, 15.28% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.67% were non-families. 28.79% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.07% (3.31% male and 7.76% female) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.14.

The age distribution is 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.7 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,694, and the median income for a family was $62,619. Males had a median income of $44,935 versus $36,813 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,631. About 9.1% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those aged 65 or over.

In 2010, 30.9% of the county's population was foreign born, with 49.2% being naturalized American citizens. Of foreign born residents, 77.4% were born in Latin America, 9.0% were born in Europe, 8.4% born in Asia, 3.5% in North America, 1.6% born in Africa, and 0.1% were born in Oceania.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Broward County is the 9th largest county with same sex households. As of the 2010 Census, there were 9,125 same sex households out of a total of 686,047 households (1.33%).

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), 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 2000, with relation to ancestry (excluding the various Hispanic and Latino ancestries), 9.4% were Italian, 7.4% American, 6.8% German, 6.7% Irish, and 4% English ancestry. Also, among West Indians, 5.99% were Haitian and were 5.91% Jamaican. Broward was 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.

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 % 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. Without the implementation of the new testing campaign, the reported numbers of new diagnoses would have probably been lower.

Languages

As of 2010, 63.44% of all residents spoke English as their first language, while 22.22% spoke Spanish, 5.42% French Creole (mostly Haitian Creole,) 1.48% Portuguese, 1.41% French, and 0.59% of the population spoke Italian as their mother language. In total, 36.56% of the population spoke languages other than English as their primary language. Since many immigrants are coming from the Anglophone Caribbean, where English is spoken, the change is not as fast as the rate of immigration would suggest.

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 Dade.

Accredited Colleges and universities

Other Adult Education Providers

Public libraries

The Broward County Library is one of the largest public library systems in the country, comprising 41 branch locations. There are also five municipal public libraries in the county that are not part of the Broward County Library: Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library, Lighthouse Point Library, Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library, and Parkland Public Library.

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.

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 5:30 p.m. the following Friday. Meetings can also be viewed via webcasting at www.broward.org.

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.

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.

Voter Registration

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

Statewide Elections

Over the past 50 years, Broward County has gone from solidly Republican to solidly Democratic. In the 1964 presidential election for example, the county supported Barry Goldwater by a 56-44 margin, even as he lost in a landslide nationwide, and in the 1972 presidential election, Broward County voters strongly backed Richard Nixon over George McGovern. From the 1976 presidential election onward, however, voters of Broward County have supported the Democratic presidential nominee over the Republican nominee by increasing majorities, except in the three Republican landslide elections of the 80s. Broward County is now the most reliably Democratic county in the state, with the exception of the much less populous and majority African American Gadsden County in North Florida. This change in voting tendencies can be attributed to the large migrations of middle and upper-class snowbirds and transplants from more liberal states, a growing LGBT community, liberal positions on social issues such as abortion and gun control, and naturalized U.S. citizens born in places such as Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

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.

Municipality populations are based on the 2010 Census.

Formerly unincorporated neighborhoods

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated areas

Points of interest

Broward boasts some notable attractions. The Museum of Discovery and Science is located in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The International Swimming Hall of Fame is located near the Atlantic Ocean, also in Fort Lauderdale. The International Game Fish Association, including the Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, is located in Dania Beach. Flamingo Gardens is a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary. Butterfly World, another botanical sanctuary, is located in Coconut Creek. Sawgrass Mills, a large outlet shopping mall, is located in Sunrise. Also, the NHL's Florida Panthers play their games at the BB&T 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 off of Sistrunk Avenue 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. Other destinations of note are the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop (colloquially known to locals as simply the Swap Shop), Riverwalk (Fort Lauderdale), and Beach Place, a strip of stores, restaurants, and bars situated across the street from the beach along the Atlantic coast in Ft. Lauderdale.

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.