Development of the City of Coral Gables, Florida

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Demographics
Politics
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The development of the cities, irrespective of their size, population, and geographical location, is basic for the development of the whole country as far as recently the global trend towards deregulation and authority decentralization has been observed. This means that cities, even the small ones, acquire larger importance in the political, economic, and social life of the country. Needless to say, the domestic life and development of any city is also rather important for the development of the society of the USA. Therefore, the focus of this paper will be the comprehensive analysis of the demographic, political, economic, etc. aspects of the development of the city of Coral Gables, Florida. The analysis of the aforesaid factors will be carried out with the help of the reputable Internet resources, the official web site of the city of Coral Gables.

Demographics

Per Capita Income

The analysis of the demographics is paramount for the understanding of the overall picture of the city’s development. First of all, it is necessary to state the population of the city and calculate the growth rates of the per capita income that Coral Gables citizens enjoy annually. Thus, Coral Gables, Florida is the city with the population amounting to 43, 000 people (Coral Gables, 2009). The interesting fact is that the major part of the mentioned population consists of the white-collar workers whose annual per capita income levels equal $60, 000. Taking into account the fact that the average household income amounts to $128, 288, the per capita income rates can be stated to grow over the recent years by 10% on the average (Coral Gables, 2009). Based on the same facts, the city of Coral Gables proves to be a perspective and potentially highly-developed city (Coral Gables, 2009).

Age Groups

The same can be stated in respect of the age distribution in the Coral Gables population. First of all, the median age in the city equals 38.1 years, while the gender distribution of the average age is as follows – the average age for males is 37.2, while females’ average age is 39.0 years (Coral Gables, 2009). Drawing from the city official statistical data, the conclusion can be made about the population in Coral Gables getting younger recently. The age distribution among the city inhabitants places the males of age under 20 in the group of 11% of the whole population, while males of 20 to 40 years constitute 14%, and those 40 to 60 years amount to 13% of the population (Coral Gables, 2009). The people of more than 60 years are only 8% of the total city population which shows that the younger age groups are on the increase, which makes it possible to state the population’s getting younger on the average (Coral Gables, 2009).

Geography

The geographical profile of the city also allows speaking of its fast and fruitful development. On the total territory of 14 square miles, there are 17, 005 households in Coral Gables. Moreover, the city offers “5.5 million square feet of office space city-wide; more than 500,000 square feet proposed or under way” (Coral Gables, 2009). The city space is also busy with the numerous political and diplomatic institutions including the consulates of such countries as Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, etc., marine facilities and health care buildings. Thus, being the city of the ocean coast, Coral Gables has no actual space for annexation and expansion, but the development of the infrastructure of the existing territory is carried out with the proper diligence (Coral Gables, 2009).

Racial and Ethnic Composition

The racial and ethnic composition of the city of Coral Gables reflects the multinational character of the American population on the while, and Florida as a rather multinational state in particular (Coral Gables, 2009). Thus, hosting over 175 races and ethnic groups, the city of Coral Gables can be characterized as follows in respect of its racial composition: Whites 92%, African Americans 3%, Native Americans 0%, Asians 2%, Hawaiian 0%, and Other races/groups 3% (Coral Gables, 2009). In this respect few changes have been noticed in the city of Coral Gables as it has remained a white-dominated city for a long time (in the sense of racial composition), and the recent trends towards multinational understanding and intercultural awareness have not substantially influenced the picture in Coral Gables (Coral Gables, 2009).

Politics

Political Discourse

The political discourse is rather substantial in the city of Coral Gables as far as the elected city-Committee consisting of the five members in charge of the municipal affairs and the development of the city has a nice reputation and positive public opinion (Coral Gables, 2009). The head of the Committee is the Mayor Don Slesnick, II, whose colleagues are the Vice-Mayor William H. Kerdyk, Jr., Commissioner Maria Anderson, Commissioner Wayne E. “Chip” Withers, Commissioner Rafael “Ralph” Cabrera, Jr. (Coral Gables, 2009) Driven by the multinational character of the city population and the location of Coral Gables on the ocean coast, the aforesaid officials are busy with the foreign policy to some extent allowing them establish and develop the friendly relations with the countries having consulates in Coral Gables, but the major focus of their work remains focused on the domestic city matters, including infrastructure development, modernization, etc.

Senior Management Education and Training

Such a situation in the city political sphere is to a great extent explained by the educational level of the major officials mentioned above. For example, Mayor Don Slesnick, II is an educated person busy, besides his direct civic functions, with the legislative defense of workers’ organizations in Coral Gables and the whole state of Florida (Coral Gables, 2009). Being a Vietnam veteran, Mr. Slesnick is well aware of needs of the military service representatives, and the work in the City’s Emergency Management Board allows the Mayor to have experience of fighting the most dangerous and critical situations, including natural and technological disasters, etc (Coral Gables, 2009). Vice-Mayor William H. Kerdyk, Jr. and other Committee members also have considerable leadership experience and the record of work in the civic organizations busy with improving the quality of the citizens’ lives through social activist steps and promoting social programs (Coral Gables, 2009).

Maria Anderson is an experienced environmentalist and commercial expert who implements her knowledge received from the work in the Urban Environment League as the Board Manager and in the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, as the Commission Representative (Coral Gables, 2009). Wayne E. “Chip” Withers is also the person of huge experience in planning and zoning, environmental protection and recreation. These areas are the spheres of his responsibility for the current term in office, and Mr. Withers can facilitate his work by the experience as Chairman of the Board of Alpha One Foundation, Board Member of the COPD Foundation, etc (Coral Gables, 2009). Finally, Commissioner Rafael “Ralph” Cabrera is also an experienced social activist and city developer who is in charge of keeping the “City Beautiful” beautiful (Coral Gables, 2009). His experience includes the work for National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Florida International University Alumni Association, etc., which can be of great help for the city development (Coral Gables, 2009).

Corruption

Nevertheless, the city of Coral Gables has faced several corruption scandals in its history. The most recent one is the case of the City Manager David Brown, who was accused of using his status and taxpayers’ money in his personal goals and his guilt was proved making him retire from the position in order to avoid the escalation of the scandal and other, probably criminal, issues. The mentioned City Manager has also been suspected of the affair with the secretary of the local Mayor directly in the City Hall. Finally, the purchasing director of the city was forced to retire on her first working day by the City Manager’s specific personal hints.

Conclusion

To conclude, the city of Coral Gables is a rather highly-developed territorial unit with a modern infrastructure and the progress oriented management. The demographical and geographical facts about the city provide it with the potential for the further development in all the areas possible, however the political sphere of life is spoiled by certain corruption scandals, even the ones involving the City Manager. To ensure the adequate development of the city and the use of its potential, it is necessary to get rid of corruption in politics and facilitate the improvement of people lives’ standards.

Works Cited

Coral Gables. “The City Beautiful.” 2009. Web.

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