Miami is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of south Florida in the southeastern United States. As the seat of Miami-Dade County, the municipality is the principal, central, and the most populous city of the Miami metropolitan area and part of the second-most populous metropolis in the southeastern United States.^[8] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Miami’s metro area is the eighth-most populous and fourth-largest urban area in the U.S., with a population of around 5.5 million.^[9][10]

Miami is a major center, and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade.^[11][12] In 2012, Miami was classified as an Alpha−World City in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory.^[13] In 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States and 33rd among global cities in terms of business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement.^[14][15] In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami “America’s Cleanest City”, for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets, and citywide recycling programs.^[16] According to a 2009 UBSstudy of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, and the world’s seventh-richest city in terms of purchasing power.^[17] Miami is nicknamed the “Capital of Latin America“^[1] and is the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality.^[18]