North: NE 167^th Street

South: NE 135^th Street (Opa-locka Blvd)

East:  NW 16^th Avenue

West: NE 18^th Avenue

Golden Glades is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County. The population was 32,623 during the 2000 census. As of 2003, Golden Glades was incorporated into the City of Miami Gardens.

Golden Glades has long been identified as part of Opa-locka’s neighborhood, but the census defines its boundaries outside of the city limits.  Golden Glades has evolved over the years, from a farming community in the late 1920s’ to a busy, middle-class, urban neighborhood. It is not until the days of the 1960s’, that thousands of established farmers were uprooted by the construction of the Golden Glades Expressway. The neighborhood was not organized then, roadbuilders and elected officials dealt mainly with frustrated farmers, “not whole blocs of angry voters and taxpayers and their thunderous orators” (Whited 1983). Other U.S. big cities have historically avoided hassle by tunneling underground, at five times the cost but “subways weren't feasible with South Florida's sandy soil and high groundwater” (Whited 1983).

Golden Glades is mostly populated with blacks and Hispanics.  Community leaders associate this demographic concentration with a migration of Haitians seeking higher living standards.  They say many “Model City residents and Haitian immigrants left their deteriorating city neighborhoods for burgeoning suburbs and smaller municipalities in North Miami-Dade County” (Viglucci 2001). 2000 Census data support the contention: Blacks' share of the population rose sharply in cities such as Golden Glades and North Miami Beach (a neighborhood near Golden Glades). “There is no doubt about it. All one has to do is ride up to Golden Glades and other places where 10 years ago you saw few people of color, if any at all, and many of those areas are now colored-in,” said T. Willard Fair, longtime director of the Urban League of Greater Miami (Viglucci 2001). At the same time, few new arrivals from Haiti are replacing those who leave Little Haiti, said Jean-Robert LaFortune, a County social worker and chairman of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition. Many of those established enough to sponsor the legal immigration of children or parents now live in communities such as Golden Glades. “It's like a step that has been broken,” said LaFortune, who has been living in Golden Glades since 1989. “Little Haiti was a springboard for Haitians, but not many are using it this way today, they just move directly to Golden Glades and start from there” (Viglucci 2001).

Golden Glades is also the location for a major highway interchange of the same name which connects the Florida Turnpike, Interstate 95, US 441, state road 9, and the Palmetto Expressway (Wikipedia: Golden Glades). Golden Glades is strained, with 400,000 vehicles traveling through its veins each day. By 2013, the number will increase to 554,000. For the past 20 years, many projects have attempted to improve the flow of traffic. In 1988, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) proposed a $410 million, 8 1/2-year reconstruction project. The FDOT project eventually did serve its purpose, and improved some of the traffic issues (Kleinman 1988). Golden Glades was never planned to be “the spaghetti bowl that it is” (Kleinman 1988). It evolved through the years as traffic in “North Dade increased and more freeways were built and connected. It started with the Turnpike in the 1950s. I-95 and the Palmetto were added in the '60s” (Kleinman 1988).

The Golden Glades of today has much to offer to young starting families. The neighborhood cares to make the living habitat for its residents safe and enjoyable. All the necesities are available in Golden Glades, such as libraries (Spring 2006), parks, and clean public facilities.

 Just recently Golden Glades announced the opening of a new public library. It will be the first new library to be built in 20 years in Miami-Dade County. The library, to be built at 100 NE 166th St., is long overdue, said resident Carol Helene. “We're finally getting a library,” she said. The Golden Glades branch is scheduled to open by the spring of 2006, according to library spokesman William Urbizu. It will measure 7,500 square feet on slightly more than two acres of land, and its collection will hold 22,000 books, audio books, DVDs and CDs. Internet access will be available on 20 computer stations. Urbizu noted that Golden Glades library marks the first time a county library was designed with input from library staff, who sat with county architects and worked out the layout. “The layout will be appealing and inviting to patrons and very efficient,” he said (Urbizu 2006).

As of the census of 2000, there were 32,623 people, 9,826 households, and 7,281 families residing in Golden Glades. The racial distribution of Golden Glades was 23.38% White, 65.29% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.81% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 2.92% from other races, and 6.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.63% of the population.

There were 9,826 households out of which 44.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 24.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The average household size was 3.23 and the average family size was 3.72.

In Golden Glades the population was spread out with 31.1% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older.

The median income for a household in Golden Glades was $30,841, and the median income for a family was $33,577. Males had a median income of $25,036 versus $21,409 for females. The per capita income for Golden Glades was $12,341. About 18.5% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 24.0% of those age 65 or over.

Carvalho, Julia. Work under way on new $3.1M branch library for city. Miami Herald. Jun. 22, 2006. Edition: Final. Section: Doral, Page 2B.

U.S. Bureau of the Census.  (2000). Statistical File 3, P31 and P32 for Census Tracts 2.05, 2.06, 2.10.  http://www.census.gov .

“Golden Glades, Florida.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 Jun 2006, 13:25 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 Jun 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_Glades%2C_Florida&oldid=59992590>.

Viglucci, Andres. Miami Neighborhood Wins, Loose in 2000 Census Count. Miami

Herald. April 8, 2001. Edition:  Final. Section:  Local, Page:  1B.

Kleinman, Jeffret. DOT To Introduce Golden Glades Plan. Miami Herald.

August 21, 1988. Edition:  Final. Section:  Neighbors NE. Page:  8.

William Urbizu. Library Spokesman. Interview. Thursday, 15 2006.