Oklahoma City vs. Birmingham (living, map, comparison, bigger)
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I consider Oklahoma City and Birmingham to be somewhat comparable cities and are a pretty good match-up. Both are the largest in their state, both lack nearby mountains or beaches to give either one a distinct advantage, both are in poor, negatively perceived states, and both are relatively similar in size. How would you rank them in the following categories?
-Downtown (NO skyline discussion, but downtown vibe in general can be discussed)
-Nightlife
-Arts & Culture
-Diversity
-Sports
-Shopping
-Outdoor recreation
-Future Outlook
When all things considered, which of these cities would you rather live in?
Apparently, you haven't been to Birmingham. It sits along the ridge and valley region of the Appalachian mountains. When you look at the Birmingham skyline Red Mountain is actually in the back drop. As for Beaches, one could drive to the Gulf coast the 'same day' but you could also take a plane ride to Colorado the 'same day' and go get a rental (that's neither here nor there). The two cities don't have beaches but Birmingham is in a mountainous region while OKC is primarily flat. You have Oak Mountain, Shades Mountain, Red Mountain, Ruffner Mountain, Mountain Brook etc.. along with valleys of flat or hilly areas in between loaded with trails. Birmingham is not a flat city by an means. I've actually been to both cities many times. There's a huge difference when comparing both terrains.
View atop Red Mountain over looking the city from the observation deck of Vulcan. Red Mountain is one of the largest urban parks in the country even larger than Central Park in size. There are more ridges south of the city although nothing immediately north. It would be pretty cool if the could build a cable car tram linking Five Points South down below to Vulcan. I don't think there is room to put the towers to hold the cables in the air. (All images are mine.) http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/...banologist.jpg
Thanks for posting that, urbanoligist. Ive been through Birmingham on I-20 and it seemed pretty flat from what I saw. With those pictures in mind I would probably give an edge to Birmingham in this matchup. The only categories OKC is the clear winner in is sports and economic outlook.
I consider Oklahoma City and Birmingham to be somewhat comparable cities and are a pretty good match-up. Both are the largest in their state, both lack nearby mountains or beaches to give either one a distinct advantage, both are in poor, negatively perceived states, and both are relatively similar in size. How would you rank them in the following categories?
-Downtown (NO skyline discussion, but downtown vibe in general can be discussed)
-Nightlife
-Arts & Culture
-Diversity
-Sports
-Shopping
-Outdoor recreation
-Future Outlook
When all things considered, which of these cities would you rather live in?
Ive been to both in the last month. Ill throw in my two cents:
Downtown: Oklahoma City. Bricktown really makes the place come alive. On nights with Thunder games, its a zoo.
Arts and Culture: I dont know enough about Birmingham in this category to render a verdict.
Diversity: Oklahoma City by a long shot. Ive put the demographics below:
Sports: OKC has the Thunder professionally and the University of Oklahoma close by. OKC on this one.
Shopping: Tie.
Outdoor Activities: Birmingham by a long shot.
Future Outlook: I would say OKC just because it has one of the strongest economies right now and its city is growing. Birmingham is shrinking, but I think the area is still fareing ok.
-Downtown Birmingham was a more industrial city than OKC having steel mills. It was once held as being the Pittsburgh of the South because of being the largest steel producing city in the South. A lot of what you see in downtown sort of reminds you of being in a rust belt city even though you're not up north. You can see it in the architecture. A lot of the historical buildings were built by the steel produced in the city that are still intact block for block with the exception of a few areas but as a whole downtown Birmingham has more dense infill with less surface lots than downtown OKC. It did a much better job of preserving it's downtown than OKC did.
-Nightlife Bricktown has the edge for having a movie theater and a canal but still falls short on the variety of pubs, shops, and restaurants you have at Five Points South. Five Points South seems to be more solid in development with fewer surface lots in between as you walk. It also ties in much better with the surrounding historical neighborhoods and university all within walking distance. Five Points South was at one time a street car hub that tied into a lot of the surrounding neighborhoods. This place has always been an active night life spot.
-Arts & Culture Birmingham you have Vulcan statue, Statue of Liberty at Liberty Park 3rd tallest after Vegas and NYC (yes, the city actually has one), Sloss Furnaces, Civil Rights museum and too many others to mention that just seem more interesting to me. The neighborhoods seem more urban friendly with better options.
-Diversity OKC does have a diversity of nation tribes to add to it's count so I will give it an edge over Birmingham.
-Sports OKC does have an NBA team but it's still new. Alabama fans take it's college football as loyal followers to a more extreme level. After all they did when the championship and not Oklahoma.
-Shopping B'Ham's Galleria and US 280 without question. OKC's Crossroads was nearly vacant.
The lay out of streets and walkways seem more interesting since it doesn't always take the grid approach. One of the urban trails leading up Red Mountain through the Southside neighbhood up to Vulcan Park. http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/...r/IMG_3001.jpg
Just passing through one of the streets as you make your way up. Nice residential views over looking the city. http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/...r/IMG_2999.jpg
-Future Outlook OKC for city but suburban growth it's basically a tie. OKC doesn't have anything on US 280. You've not seen traffic until you drive along US 280 especially during rush hour. (you wish you didn't)
OKC made the one of the worst urban renewal blunders in US history when they destroyed most of downtown with something called the Pei Plan. The initial plan was to turn downtown OKC into a very modern (by 1960s standards), master planned community. They demolished most of downtown but by the time the new projects started to break ground, the oil bust had hit and most were scrapped.
OKC is still trying to recover from that to this day.
And urbanologist, Crossroads Mall in OKC is dead. Penn Square and Quail Springs are the malls to go to. Neither of them compare to Birmingham's Galleria, but will leave you with a much better impression than Crossroads.
OKC is definitely going places, especially the downtown area. I would say the city is progressing faster than Birmingham even if B'Ham is still marginally ahead in a few areas.
Beautiful beaches are just 4 hours from Birmingham, so it's easy to do a weekend beach trip.
Birmingham has a great location- close to the mountains, 2 hours to Atlanta, 3 to Nashville, 4 to the beach, 5 to New Orleans.
I've only been to OKC once that I can remember, so I don't know it well enough to compare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbanologist
Apparently, you haven't been to Birmingham. It sits along the ridge and valley region of the Appalachian mountains. When you look at the Birmingham skyline Red Mountain is actually in the back drop. As for Beaches, one could drive to the Gulf coast the 'same day' but you could also take a plane ride to Colorado the 'same day' and go get a rental (that's neither here nor there). The two cities don't have beaches but Birmingham is in a mountainous region while OKC is primarily flat. You have Oak Mountain, Shades Mountain, Red Mountain, Ruffner Mountain, Mountain Brook etc.. along with valleys of flat or hilly areas in between loaded with trails. Birmingham is not a flat city by an means. I've actually been to both cities many times. There's a huge difference when comparing both terrains.
View atop Red Mountain over looking the city from the observation deck of Vulcan. Red Mountain is one of the largest urban parks in the country even larger than Central Park in size. There are more ridges south of the city although nothing immediately north. It would be pretty cool if the could build a cable car tram linking Five Points South down below to Vulcan. I don't think there is room to put the towers to hold the cables in the air. http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/...r/IMG_3065.jpg
Downtown: From what I can tell, OKC.
Nightlife: I'd guess OKC
Arts & Culture: Birmingham for sure on culture, Maybe OKC for art?
Diversity: OKC for sure is more diverse
Sports: OKC slightly, but it's just one sports team
Shopping: Birmingham
Outdoor recreation: Birmingham has "mountains", and OKC is pretty underwhelming
Future Outlook: OKC is an up and coming city, Birmingham seems to be stuck in the past (yet a seemingly decent city). If OKC gets a lightrail (or better Public Transportation), decent shopping, and a football team, I think I would be able to move there.
I would like to find out more about Birmingham. Beautiful setting, and nice skyline from what i've seen!
Beautiful beaches are just 4 hours from Birmingham, so it's easy to do a weekend beach trip.
Birmingham has a great location- close to the mountains, 2 hours to Atlanta, 3 to Nashville, 4 to the beach, 5 to New Orleans.
I've only been to OKC once that I can remember, so I don't know it well enough to compare.
Well, for comparison, OKC is 3 hours to Dallas, ~3.5 hours to the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains, 5 hours to Little Rock, and more than 7 hours from the beach...so, yes, I'd definitely give B-Ham the edge, as far as location goes.
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