Miami, Florida

Miami is a major city in southeastern Florida, and the county seat of Miami-Dade County. Miami is considered a "gamma world city": Even with an estimated population of 404,048 with in the municipal borders that is the largest city within the South Florida metropolitan area, which is the largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern US 5.4 million people. Miami and its surrounding cities make up the fifth largest urban area in the United States. The United Nations estimates that the Miami Urban Agglomeration is the fourth largest in the United States.

Miami’s importance as an international financial and cultural center has elevated Miami to the status of world city. Because of Miami’s cultural and linguistic ties to North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, Miami is many times referred to as “The Gateway of the Americas”. Florida’s large Spanish-speaking population and strong economic ties to Latin America also make Miami and the surrounding region an important center of the Hispanic world.

Miami is also home to one of the largest, most influential ports in the United States, the Port of Miami. The port is often called the “Cruise Capital of the World” and the “Cargo Gateway of the Americas”. It has retained its status as the number one cruise/passenger port in the world for well over a decade accommodating the largest cruise ships and the major cruise lines.