Should Miami annex some surrounding municipalities to increase the size of the city proper? (Jacksonville: rent, condo)

[boxus]

Originally Posted by big gipp

Ummmm yes that statement actually does sounds racist. If you end up with a black majority then that means there is more to Miami than just the Latin community. Leaders are from all different races...our country is majority white but elected a black president. You point of view is the reason why Miami hasn't lived up to its potential thus far.

To me, it is more about inviting a very large group in to all of a sudden provide representation for an area they did not actually have a stake in before, thus all efforts will be made to transfer wealth to the areas they represent, and they will have the votes/power to do so.

You will then see wealthier areas trying to break away from Miami because they would be tired of seeing their tax dollars going towards poor areas instead of their own.

[Vector1]

Originally Posted by big gipp

Miami has a very small city proper which covers only about 55 sq miles and only about 35 sq miles of land. I think that the city's boundaries should be expanded so that we are recognized as one of the larger cities in the U.S. Even though Miami-Dade county has close to 3 million residents and people usually associate everything as Miami, I just feel that the city is not represented correctly when you look at the city of Miami population as being a little over 400,000. If the city proper was expanded to include just a few of the surrounding municipalities it would easily put us above 1 million residents. NYC and Houston has done this in the past so why not. Any thoughts?

Yes

Who is going to pay for it?

Remember that much of the people in the suburbs do not want to live in the city limits for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is the higher crime rates and urban blighted areas (i.e. Overtown). Those areas provide a small % of tax revenue, yet suck up a huge amount of services (police, rescue, public works, etc.). That is the reason certain cities in Miami-Dade Country incorporated and became their own tax base.
Now their property tax dollars go to fund their own police departments which have much quicker response times, pot holes actually get fixed within days, and they wind up with budget surpluses or funded reserves that they use to fund projects that improve the look, safety, and value within their local communities.

However if the suburbs were to become part of the city proper, the taxes they pay would go disproportionately to the gun & knife club and the indigent baby making factory.
I am guessing you have never even thought of this line of reasoning, but it is a stark reality many never want to see.

`

[Vector1]

Originally Posted by flyers29

Somehow I doubt that the richer municipalities would want to combine with the not-so-rich ones. Besides, Coral Gables would have less power to enforce their fascist zoning policies.

LOL

I hadn't read the responses prior to posting my own. As to your comment about Coral Gables zoning, I suspect you mean their code enforcement department?

You must admit that despite how you feel about the pickup truck ban, it is one of the nicest looking areas in Miami-Dade.

[flyers29]

Originally Posted by Vector1

LOL

I hadn't read the responses prior to posting my own. As to your comment about Coral Gables zoning, I suspect you mean their code enforcement department?

You must admit that despite how you feel about the pickup truck ban, it is one of the nicest looking areas in Miami-Dade.

Indeed.

[amonte]

I think Miami should first focus on making the area it already has into a respectable and decent city, and only then think about expanding.

If Miami would get suburbs then it would be more if an embarrassing none urban big city.

[Vector1]

Seems like the OP never decided to respond and has abandoned their own thread.

[rnc2mbfl]

I'd imagine that there was a time, not so long ago, that adjacent communities would have vomited at the thought of being in the city of Miami proper, but times have changed. I'd imagine that for many of these communities now, being part of Miami proper would be a step up as the city continues its upscale direction.

[big gipp]

Originally Posted by Vector1

Yes

Who is going to pay for it?

Remember that much of the people in the suburbs do not want to live in the city limits for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is the higher crime rates and urban blighted areas (i.e. Overtown). Those areas provide a small % of tax revenue, yet suck up a huge amount of services (police, rescue, public works, etc.). That is the reason certain cities in Miami-Dade Country incorporated and became their own tax base.
Now their property tax dollars go to fund their own police departments which have much quicker response times, pot holes actually get fixed within days, and they wind up with budget surpluses or funded reserves that they use to fund projects that improve the look, safety, and value within their local communities.

However if the suburbs were to become part of the city proper, the taxes they pay would go disproportionately to the gun & knife club and the indigent baby making factory.
I am guessing you have never even thought of this line of reasoning, but it is a stark reality many never want to see.

`

Good point. And you're right I never thought about the things you mentioned. My main point of the thread was thinking more towards the actual population of the city proper. I was looking at the fact that Miami city limits covers only 55 sq miles and only 35 sq miles are actually land which is very small. The city limit only has a little over 400,00 but the county of Dade is around 2.5 million. I was thinking that if we annexed some of the surrounding areas like Houston did or like NYC did way back in the day with Brooklyn then we could have a city proper of over 1 million. Imagine if our city proper covered over 400 sq miles like Atlanta. But you have opened my eyes as to why that will probably never happen. But if Manhattan can fit 1.6 million people on 23 sq miles of land then I guess Miami can do the same with better infrastructure and urban infill......

[boxus]

Originally Posted by big gipp

Good point. And you're right I never thought about the things you mentioned. My main point of the thread was thinking more towards the actual population of the city proper. I was looking at the fact that Miami city limits covers only 55 sq miles and only 35 sq miles are actually land which is very small. The city limit only has a little over 400,00 but the county of Dade is around 2.5 million. I was thinking that if we annexed some of the surrounding areas like Houston did or like NYC did way back in the day with Brooklyn then we could have a city proper of over 1 million. Imagine if our city proper covered over 400 sq miles like Atlanta. But you have opened my eyes as to why that will probably never happen. But if Manhattan can fit 1.6 million people on 23 sq miles of land then I guess Miami can do the same with better infrastructure and urban infill......

Who the heck says the majority here even wants this?

Has it ever occurred to you that many people are perhaps happy the way things are here in Miami? And if they wish to be sardined into some dense area like that, they would have moved to a dense area?

Plus, what difference does it make to you how many people are here? And the density of the place?

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by boxus

Who the heck says the majority here even wants this?

Things change, whether the majority wants it or not. We are projected to approach 10 Billion global population in the next 40 years. Most of these additional 2-3 Bn. people will be living in cities. We cannot keep expanding suburbs to accommodate everybody since we need farms to feed people. Here in Miami, we still need the everglades and it's aquifers for water supply. Cities will get bigger and more dense. Cities that build the infrastructure to support population growth and attract talent and business will be more successful and attract more residents. Others will go the way of Detroit--and I doubt that's the best way to keep the density down.

American cities are sparsely populated by world standards. Unless we have some drastic change in immigration policy, we will continue to have immigration--people leaving those mega cities abroad for American cities.

Or we can have some massive worldwide calamity...take your pick.