[TarHeelTerritory]

Alabama, the Heart of Dixie, is right between Georgia and Mississippi geographically. How much of a cross between those two states, though, is it in terms of demographics, growth, urbanity, and culture? And given that Alabama is growing faster than Mississippi but still not nearly as much as Georgia, could Alabama be the "next" Tennessee or South Carolina in terms of economic and/or population growth, and if so, how long do you think it will take? Lastly, would you want this or not, and why?

[cjseliga]

Just looking at auto manufacturing, Alabama might already be ahead of South Carolina. The yellowhammer state already has vehicle assembly plants for Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai, and soon Toyota-Mazda. They are also have an engine assembly plant for Toyota. The palmetto state has BMW and Volvo, right?

Sure South Carolina won the big second Boeing assembly site, but Mobile is home to Airbus Mobile which opened in 2015. And Huntsville is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

With Alabama's population only 150,000 less than South Carolina, I would say they are par with each other already. The one thing Alabama lacks, as compared to SC, is a Charleston, Myrtle Beach and a coastline in general, other than that I would say Alabama's economy might be even better than South Carolina's.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

The one thing Alabama lacks, as compared to SC, is a Charleston, Myrtle Beach and a coastline in general, other than that I would say Alabama's economy might be even better than South Carolina's.

I wouldn't say that Mobile necessarily competes with Charleston, but it is still a charming Antebellum era city with some lovely architecture, and the Gulf Coast has beautiful beaches that some might argue are better than those in Myrtle Beach.

[Escondudo]

Alabama is basically Georgia without a major city on par with Atlanta.

[jas75]

Alabama is to some extent a blend of Georgia and Mississippi, but it is a little different from its neighbors in respects that go beyond the obvious lack of a major metropolitan area like Atlanta. It is demographically a little whiter and older than both neighboring states, and accordingly votes Republican by higher margins in recent election cycles. Alabama tends to have a larger industrial presence per capita, and less reliance on lower-end service and food processing sectors compared to Mississippi. I don't think it is exactly equivalent to the non-metro Atlanta parts of Georgia - the latter state has no real equivalent to Birmingham or Huntsville, so Alabama would probably be more prosperous even if slower growing.

[Pincho-toot]

Alabama has a lot of potential but it does have a negative image that's been harder for it to shed than its neighbours to the east. Mobile and Montgomery are the only AL cities I been to and I only barely passed Montgomery but Mobile has a great setting and really close to Pensacola and Florida beaches, plus Alabama beaches. I dig its coastal vibe.

[Atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

Just looking at auto manufacturing, Alabama might already be ahead of South Carolina. The yellowhammer state already has vehicle assembly plants for Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai, and soon Toyota-Mazda. They are also have an engine assembly plant for Toyota. The palmetto state has BMW and Volvo, right?

Sure South Carolina won the big second Boeing assembly site, but Mobile is home to Airbus Mobile which opened in 2015. And Huntsville is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

With Alabama's population only 150,000 less than South Carolina, I would say they are par with each other already. The one thing Alabama lacks, as compared to SC, is a Charleston, Myrtle Beach and a coastline in general, other than that I would say Alabama's economy might be even better than South Carolina's.

You forget about the Port of Charleston
https://www.postandcourier.com/busin...cccd810ff.html

In response to the growth in traffic at both Savannah and the Port of Charleston, the Jasper Ocean Terminal, to be the largest port in the country when it is completed, is planned to be built upriver on the Savannah River by the mid 2020s.[7]

Charleston and Myrtle are not only the fastest growing cities for their size, but tourism is more popular in South Carolina.

Charleston airport is also busier than Birmingham airport, Greenville- Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach is also not far behind. South Carolina also have Hilton Head and Bluffton which is growing like wild fire.

South Carolina is also becoming the new Florida for retirees. I just don't see Alabama being ahead of Georgia obviously or South Carolina.

South Carolina also is stronger in the miltary with Parris Island, Marine Corp Air Station, Navy, Army, and Air Force.

South Carolina also have the Savannah Nuclear River Plant in Aiken, South Carolina.

[cherokee48]

I would say that there are some signs that point to Alabama being a bit of a hybrid of Georgia and Mississippi. Alabama has felt to me like a more down home or slowed down Georgia and at the same time like a more sped up Mississippi in a lot of ways. All three states have much in common and their middle grounds (figuratively and literally speaking) seem to be in Alabama. Obviously Alabama being so centrally located in the south has made it the heart of the south and thoroughly influenced by other areas of the south but also a chief influence in the south. Look no further than Birmingham's history as the prototypical new south city that signaled new economies for southern cities following the civil war. The Black Belt of Alabama defined by plantation economy, sharecropping and majority black populations so thoroughly defined lowland Alabama that it was later associated with the Deep South and currently is the beating heart if a much larger majority Black and largely rural region in the south called the Black Belt of the US for it's Alabama namesake. In a sense the Black Belt is Alabama's "Mississippi Delta" region. Further proof of the influence of Alabama on Georgia and Mississippi and vice versa

Demographics: These three states are pretty similar when it comes to the demographics as all reflect Alabama's Black Belt reality that came to influence Georgia and Mississippi. Georgia and Mississippi both have white populations of 59% and black populations of 37 and 30 % respectively. Alabama comes in at 68% white and 26% Black. Georgia had the highest non black or white population at 4% and Alabama followed at 2%. In this regard there is definitely a cross and a similarity of history and demographics.(Black Belt for both)

Growth: This area is where Georgia is the obvious leader due to Atlanta and Mississippi falls the furthest behind by not having a major metro area (1 million +) yet. Georgia has had a much more aggressive and sophisticated yet southern philosophy about growth and Mississippi on the other hand has aggressively resisted it. This is where Alabama (literally and figuratively) meets both in the middle. Throughout it's history Alabama has moved back and forth as if on a sliding scale between rejecting growth as a threat to it's southern roots and identity like Mississippi and embracing growth and bending it to your will as a national trendsetter like Georgia. Due to it's rural based politics the Mississippi based philosophy has historically won out until recently. Financial crises, the growth of the automotive sector aided heavily by Birmingham's transportation network and workforce base and Birmingham's economic presence in the last few years especially has forced Alabama to take a definitive turn towards a more forward thinking Georgia style growth philosophy.

Urbanity: Whenever talking about "Urban" or urbanity and Alabama the clear epicenter is Birmingham. Historically Birmingham and Atlanta have had much more connectivity and influence on each other due to both being primary railroad hubs of the 19th century and Georgia thus had much more influence on Alabama's urbanity than Mississippi. Both Birmingham and Atlanta developed extensive rail networks throughout the south, both grew and developed numerous streetcar suburbs that exist today as outlying city neighborhoods and suburbs. Both cities developed extensive downtown street grids and were populated by mid and high rise neo classical buildings. In a sense Birmingham represents Georgia's influence on Alabama. Birmingham like Atlanta is landlocked and does not sit on a river like Mississippi's primary urbanity counterpart Jackson. That fact weighed heavily in Birmingham (AL) being much more influenced by Atlanta (GA) in terms of urbanity than MS.

Culture: The culture of Alabama has many similarities to both Georgia and Mississippi in terms if dialect, foods, recreation (SEC football), music etc. In this category similar to the demographics there are differences but the similarities are very strong. It does suggest a bit of a melting pot of both cultures in Alabama.

Yes if managed correctly and efficiently Alabama could be another Tennessee or Carolina (North or South) as far as it's economy and urban structure. I'll echo a previous post about Alabama's auto manufacturing and say it is already working with some good bones to have a great future. Assuming that Alabama doesn't screw it up with more corruption, neglect and ineptitude I'd say 10 years from now with Birmingham (and Huntsville to a lesser degree) dragging Alabama to the next level it could be well on it's way to being a much better state (economy and image wise). I think most Alabama residents would definitely support that and a smaller number would loudly protest the state changing so much from "outsiders" but would ultimately come along for the ride and better wages, amenities etc.

[MPC]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

You forget about the Port of Charleston
https://www.postandcourier.com/busin...cccd810ff.html

In response to the growth in traffic at both Savannah and the Port of Charleston, the Jasper Ocean Terminal, to be the largest port in the country when it is completed, is planned to be built upriver on the Savannah River by the mid 2020s.[7]

It is a huge project, but when or if it even gets built, it will have a capacity of 7 million TEU. That would put it third rather than first in TEU as both LA and Long Beach both handle more than 7 million TEU.

[drfranklin]

I've been told that SC is just Alabama with a lottery
I'm a native of AL; the SC Piedmont/Upstate has a different "feel"/populace than any city in AL - Greenville reminds me more of Charlotte/Greensboro
SC is a "half-back" state and I believe, for the first time recently, SC exceeded AL's population