Urban development began in the 1890s with the construction of the Florida East Coast Railway by Standard Oil industrialist Henry Flagler down to Miami at the insistence of Julia Tuttle.The CBD has long been dense with retail and office space, as well as some lofts and apartments, but recently has seen large scale high-rise residential development as during Miami housing market booms in the aughts and continuing again in the 2010s.[6] The Metromover Inner Loop is located entirely within the CBD, as is Metrorail's Government Center station, where the rapid transit and people mover systems meet.It is located on the west side of downtown in the Government Center area, which has a large concentration of city, county, state, and federal offices.Downtown Miami as defined by Walk Score which includes Brickell and the Arts & Entertainment District, is considered "very walkable" and as having "world-class public transportation", as well as being "very bikeable".
Miami's Central Business District seen from the west with its mix of historic low and mid-rise buildings and newer high-rise buildings, March 2013