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Opa-locka, Florida

Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the reported population was 14,951; as of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,376.

Opa-locka was named the city with the highest violent crime rate in the United States by the FBI in 2003 and 2004. Despite major drops in crime, it still remains among the most dangerous places in the United States. Opa-locka also gained notoriety when it was discovered that the 9/11 Hijackers trained there.

Description

Opa-locka has an area of 4.2 square miles and is located in the north western area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss and was based on the Arabian nights theme with streets that have names like Sabur Lane, Sultan Avenue, Ali Baba Avenue, and Sesame Street. The name Opa-locka is a contraction of the Native Americans' name for the area, “Opa-tisha-woka-locka”, meaning "The high land north of the little river on which there is a camping place.". Opa-locka has the largest collection of Moorish architecture in the Western hemisphere.

History

Opa-locka was founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in 1926. Curtiss originally called the city Opa-tisha-woka-locka, but quickly shortened the name to Opa-locka. Curtiss developed the city with a Moorish architecture theme. While the 1926 Miami hurricane badly damaged the city and brought the Florida land boom to a halt, the surviving Moorish-style buildings continue to give Opa-locka a unique look.

Amelia Earhart launched her historic trip around the world from Miami Municipal Airport, just south of Opa-locka. The Graf Zeppelin, the second largest airship ever, visited the NAS Miami, which later became Opa-locka Airport, as a regular stop on its Germany-Brazil-United States-Germany scheduled route.

Geography

Opa-locka is located at (25.901218, -80.250824).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.6 km² (4.5 mi²). 11.2 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (3.13%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,951 people, 4,890 households, and 3,437 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.2/km² (3,451.9/mi²). There were 5,407 housing units at an average density of 482.1/km² (1,248.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 22.83% White (3.1% Non-Hispanic Whites,) 69.64% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.60% from other races, and 3.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.55% of the population.

There were 4,890 households out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.4% were married couples living together, 35.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.52.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.6% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,631, and the median income for a family was $22,742. Males had a median income of $22,347 versus $19,270 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,538. About 31.5% of families and 35.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.3% of those under age 18 and 40.8% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 68.44%, while Spanish made up 28.29%, French Creole 2.77%, and French was at 0.47% of the population.

As of 2000, Opa-locka had the forty-sixth highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, with 9.58% of the US populace. It had the forty-ninth highest percentage of Dominican residents in the US, at 2.59% of the city's population, and the fifty-second highest percentage of Haitian residents in the US, at 2.9% of the it's population (tied with four other areas, including Palm Springs, Florida.) It also had the forty-third most Jamaicans in the US, at 3% (tied with Margate,) while it had the nineteenth highest percentage of Nicaraguans, at 2.22% of all residents.

Crime

Opa-locka is consistently ranked among the highest violent crime rates in the United States, and in 2003 and 2004 had the highest violent crime rate in the United States according to the FBI. The crime data per 100,000 as of 2005 is as follows:

Crime	Opa Locka	National Average
Homicide	51	6.9
Forcible Rape	25.52	32.2
Robbery	1123	195.4
Aggravated Assault	1046.4	340.4
Burglary	4485.4	814.5
Larceny Theft	3994.1	2734.7
Vehicle Theft	1276.1	526.5

However, in 2005, East Saint Louis, Illinois ranked higher for Murder, Rape, Assault, and Auto Theft.

The Opa-locka Triangle is an area known for violence and drug use. The Triangle is bounded by State Road 9 on the south, Northwest 17 Avenue to 22 Avenue on the east and west portions and Northwest 151 Street on the north in the City of Opa-locka.

Vice Mayor Terence K. Pinder, who campaigned against the city's crime rates, was arrested in November 2006 for Official Misconduct, Grand Theft, and other charges.