Birmingham shrinks as other Alabama cities swell (Montgomery, Mobile: sales, best schools)

[Newsboy]

Birmingham = Detroit is an amazingly good comparison. These two cities have an awful lot of the same problems in common.

[Reactionary]

St Louis has many of the same problems - poorly performing schools, high crime, middle-class / business exodus to fast-growing suburbs.

[randy8876]

Here are some other cities that you can compare to. They have the crime rate next to them.

Gary, Indiana 5264/100k shrinking
Detroit, Michigan 7786/100k shrinking
Miami Gardens, Florida 7083/100k shrinking
Birmingham, Alabama 10207/100k shrinking
Jackson, Mississippi 8405/100k shrinking
New Orleans, Louisiana 6306/100k shrinking
Macon, Georgia 9335/100k shrinking
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 7204/100k shrinking
Flint, Michigan 8097/100k shrinking
Cleveland, Ohio 7213/100k shrinking
Shreveport, Louisiana 6243/100k shrinking
Portsmouth, Virginia 6257/100k shrinking
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 6679/100k shrinking


Looks like Birmingham has a bright future!!

[PortCity]

Birmingham is changing for the better !....And though many B-ham natives have said that Shelby County has better schools but I`m sure Jeff Co has the best schools in the nation..I also understand the occupational taxes from a business point of view but I just believe that Shelby is just all hype and a growing trend in the B-ham area...I assume the reason why I can`t see why Shelby is growing so fast is because I`m in south Alabama but that is just my 2 cents.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

There about as likely not to merge with Bham either. Logically Tarrant City, Midfield, Fairfield, Lipscomb, Brighton, Adamsville and Graysville should merge with Birmingham.

I think when I was growing up Forestdale "citizens" put it to a vote on whether to be merged with Birmingham or not and I think it was a resounding no.

[sleepless in Bham]

You guys kill me (no pun intended) with this crime issue. Any metro worth something is gonna have crime, you cant run away from it, and again the crime rate in the central city (Bham proper) is down. An bigger issue that nobody has yet to bring up is the dramatic increase in sewer rates, and that more than anything is probably driving people into the suburban counties. When it cost more to flush the toliet than to drink a glass of water that is a problem.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by Tourian

I think when I was growing up Forestdale "citizens" put it to a vote on whether to be merged with Birmingham or not and I think it was a resounding no.

My neighborhood was annexed by vote into Hueytown in 2004, other than trash service, and the increased police presence there hasnt been much benefit. That will likely change when the economy picks back up again.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

#1 way to stop the population slide with Birmingham city limits? Fix the schools. Once that happens the rest resolves itself. After all, downtown Birmingham has had a nice comeback in terms of occupancy. In fact, I drove down 2nd Avenue North last night and was gratified to see all the open places, something that would have never been the case a decade ago.

Agreed, by with the current group of board leaders downtown its not gonna happen anytime soon.

[Aficionado]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

You guys kill me (no pun intended) with this crime issue. Any metro worth something is gonna have crime, you cant run away from it, and again the crime rate in the central city (Bham proper) is down. An bigger issue that nobody has yet to bring up is the dramatic increase in sewer rates, and that more than anything is probably driving people into the suburban counties. When it cost more to flush the toliet than to drink a glass of water that is a problem.

True. This has been an ongoing issue that Jefferson County really has no way of putting to rest it seems. One thing they all seem to agree upon though, is that the 4+ billion sewage debt cannot be repaid. I read they are trying to come to some type of agreement, but I just don't see any way around it really.

Originally Posted by cpg35223

#1 way to stop the population slide with Birmingham city limits? Fix the schools. Once that happens the rest resolves itself. After all, downtown Birmingham has had a nice comeback in terms of occupancy. In fact, I drove down 2nd Avenue North last night and was gratified to see all the open places, something that would have never been the case a decade ago.

Based on this article, evidence suggests that the pattern of shrinkage in Birmingham's core seems to have stabilized within the past year or so. Whether or not it will rebound is another story, but I just think that place needs more attractions, and things that will appeal to someone who prefers it's slower pace than Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte.

Continued revitalization efforts of the city center are imperative IMO as there simply isn't a plurality of compelling options. Hopefully the new downtown hotel/district will breathe life into what I consider the seediest area of them all, Norwood/Fountain Heights. There haven't been newly established retail offerings in that part Bham in probably decades lol.

[temel]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

I really don't know what the only elected leaders can do. For one thing, even if they wanted to do everything I wanted, their hands are tied by many things, an insufficient tax-base among the most important. I think they could encourage smaller projects more rather than only stadiums and hotels. Encourage people, not only from a social justice standpoint, but even as a tax-base standpoint as well. All the investment money put into the big projects put into the dealing with drug problems, city services, and encouraging people to buy houses within the city limits, perhaps? Schools are indeed important, but they are not going to win this in the next decade. They have been on a long downhill slide and they are not going to be turned around in just a few years. Perhaps its self-centered and cruel, but while fixing the schools should indeed be priority number one, to rebuild the cities population and tax-base should not be based on encouraging families to come fill up our public schools. Its not gonna happen. Furthermore, poor schools are not only a cause, but a result of other complex social issues. Instead, encouraging neighborhoods of "urban pioneers" to build on the positive aspects of city living= walk-ability and transit, encouraging the ability for students, single people, and retired people to be able to conduct all relevant business without even having to get in the car. Rebuilding neighborhood cohesiveness and community.