West Park, officially the City of West Park, is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. It was created on March 1, 2005. It is located in the southeastern part of the county and consists of the neighborhoods of Carver Ranches, Lake Forest, Miami Gardens (Broward County), and

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

. A large portion of the city lies west of the town of Pembroke Park, so the new city was called "West Park". The city has a population of 15,130 as of the 2020 census. The city is bordered by Miami-Dade County on the south, Pembroke Park on the east, Hollywood on the north and Miramar on the west.

History

The previously unincorporated neighborhoods of West Park embarked on the road to incorporation in 2004, after the Florida Legislature approved House Bill 1491, which provided for an election on November 2, 2004. Following a vote of 3,400 to 956 for incorporation, West Park was on its way to becoming Broward County's 31st city. After the election, residents elected an interim transition committee and held a series of workshops to gain input on the level of municipal-type services to be provided. It was decided that the new municipality would be known as West Park until a consensus was reached on a permanent name; this name was subsequently retained. On March 8, 2005, Eric H. Jones, Jr., was elected

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and four Commissioners were elected: Felicia M. Brunson, Thomas W. Dorsett, Sharon Fyffe and Rita "Peaches" Mack. They were sworn-in as the municipality's first elected leaders on March 10, 2005. In 2011 West Park, received acknowledgement from the national non-profit organization KaBOOM! As the city garnered the designation of a 2011 Playful City USA community. This recognition was given the city's effort to “increase play opportunities for children”.

Media

The city of West Park has its own newspaper,
The West Park News
, which is published by and part of Miami Community Newspapers.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010 Census

As of 2000, before being

annex Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations. It may also refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada * The Annex (New H ...

ed to West Park, the Carver Ranches neighborhood had

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as a

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

accounted for 96.90% of all residents, while

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

accounted for 2.19%, and French Creole as a mother tongue made up 0.90% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to West Park, the Lake Forest neighborhood had English as a first language accounted for 60.49% of all residents, while Spanish accounted for 34.79%, French Creole at 4.04%, and French as a mother tongue made up 0.67% of the population. As of 2000, the Miami Gardens neighborhood, before being annexed to West Park, had Spanish as a first language accounted for 51.09% of all residents, while English accounted for 45.17%, and French Creole as a mother tongue made up 3.72% of the population. As of 2000, before being annexed to West Park, the neighborhood of Utopia had English as a first language accounted for 80.62% of all residents, while Spanish as a mother tongue made up 19.37% of the population. As of 2000, before West Park annexed it, the Miami Gardens neighborhood had the 103rd-highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, with 1.63% of the US populace. The forty-fourth-highest percentage of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n residents in the US, at 9.76% of the city's population (tied with

Key Largo Key Largo ( es, Cayo Largo) is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by ...

,) the twenty-fourth-highest percentage of Dominicans in the US, with 4.62%, and the fifteenth-highest percentage of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n residents in the US, at 6.3% of the city's population. It also had the forty-fourth-most

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vians in the US, at 1.26% (tied with North Plainfield,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

,) while it had the forty-fifth-highest percentage of Haitians (tied with Leisure City), at 3.6% of all residents. Also, West Park's Miami Gardens neighborhood had the sixty-first-highest percentage of Puerto Ricans, which was at an 11.2% populace. As of 2010, there were 4,711 households, out of which 8.0% were vacant.

Education

Residents are zoned to schools in

Broward County Public Schools Broward County Public Schools is a public school district serving Broward County, Florida, is the sixth largest public school system in the nation. During the 2016–2017 school year, Broward County Public Schools served 271,517 students enroll ...

: * A portion of the town is zoned to Lake Forest Elementary School, and a portion is zoned to Watkins Elementary School. * McNichol Middle School * Hallandale High SchoolHallandale High
"

. Retrieved on September 23, 2018.

References

External links

City of West Park official website
{{authority control Cities in Broward County, Florida Cities in Florida