It also contains the Florida Keys; three U.S. national parks: Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, and Everglades; and multiple cities.

Southwest Florida, representing the state's Gulf Coast, has emerged as a directional vernacular region.

[6] Its definition includes much of the same territory as Lamme and Oldakowski's report, except the Gulf Coast and much of the interior Glades region..

South Florida is politically diverse, with multiple congressional districts in the region supporting both the Democratic and Republican parties.

[14] Lamme and Oldakowski identify several demographic, political, and cultural elements that characterize South Florida and distinguish it from other areas of the state.

Many of its differences appear to be driven by its proportionately higher level of migration from the northern U.S. states and from the Caribbean and Latin America, particularly in the densely populated Miami area.

While less than 10% of people in either North or Central Florida felt their area was liberal, over a third of South Floridians described their region as such.

South Florida is the only region of the state where ethnic foods are as popular as general American cuisine.

[21] In 2008, the North Lauderdale City Commission passed a resolution calling for a new state of South Florida to be formed from Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.

[22][21] In 2014, South Miami's city commission passed a resolution in favor of splitting the state in half, with a northern boundary drawn to include the counties of Brevard, Orange, Polk, Hillsborough, and Pinellas, which roughly includes parts of Tampa Bay and Orlando areas.