Downtown Miami

The good thing about Miami is that it's very close to the United States," Americans are wont to joke. Exaggerated, of course, but not completely out of place. The air of the Tropics, the omnipresence of palm trees, the pre-eminence of the Spanish language: all this contributes to maintaining a certain exoticism. This particularity is apparently very attractive, as Miami has seen a veritable property rush in recent years that has transformed the city and its image. This is even truer for the city centre, the downtown area where most of 'Miami Vice' and its sordid mix of drugs and violence were once concentrated. The yellowed cliché of the 80s has been erased: the chic building sites have disappeared amid the cankers and, with the architectural integrity of South Beach limiting building possibilities, it is in the downtown area that we have seen the proliferation of mixed-use buildings and other solar-powered condominiums that are now the glory of the Miami way of life. Even if the property crisis has dampened spirits somewhat in recent months, Miami has emerged totally transformed from the past decade. The city that used to sell its beaches can now sell a city.