Birmingham shrinks as other Alabama cities swell (Montgomery, Mobile: real estate, unemployment)

[cpg35223]

Well, given that the 6th Congressional district had an 18% bump in population and basically follows the MSA footprint, I think that should pretty much settle matters.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Get rid of the occupational tax in BHM - it drives away people and business.

I would sooner lower the sales taxes. The thin with the occupational tax, is that many people live outside the city, but work within it. So Bham can't rely on property taxes like many other cities do, because the property values are so low. However, I do agree that lowering taxes is somewhat important. when it comes to states or federal, or even county to some extent I'm not so sure. But cities are small and a person can very easily divide his/her economic activities due to taxes. So a city's tax burden in Bham would likely have more of an impact than say, a state or federal tax. That's why I think these big projects based on additional taxes, such as lodging taxes and all that, may not be so beneficial and just add to the tax burden.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

I feel like the schools are the biggest issue driving people, especially families from the central city. Using the race issue as an excuse is pure BS when you had 23,000 blacks leave for the burbs in the last decade. Also being able to get to goods and services without the use of a car is not as valuable to people right now, that might change with the increase of gas prices.

I wasn't talking about the race issue. If you want to get into it, you could say this is partially a legacy of the race issue, but indeed, these days its more about schools and perception of crime. Some people inevitably equate that with race, so I suppose thats an extra burden, but that's not really the driving issue anymore, in my mind.
I agree the schools are the biggest driving issue, but I'm not sure there has a been an urban city that fixed the school issues BEFORE some other sort of other motivation of urban revival changed the city's economic and residential patterns. As long as the schools are shrinking, and the most educated parts of the population take their kids out of the education system, I don't really see a solution to that.
Gas prices go up and down. It'd be nice to think people will move closer with higher gas prices, but even even they are high for a couple years, people's mindsets adjust and expect the higher gas prices without realizing it. My guess is they'd probably have to be 4 or 5 times higher for people here to actually change their behaviors. Perhaps. As it is, people drive 3 blocks to go to the corner store.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Sounds to me like Birmingham just needs a state capital (Montgomery), major state university (Tuscaloosa and Auburn)* or military base (Huntsville and Mobile) to grow.

*: UAB doesn't count (yet).

Of course UAB counts. Its just that Bham is a much larger city, so UAB can't be expected to be the only game in town like those towns can get away with. I'm also not sure that Montgomery and Mobiles are inmuch different situations.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by 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.

Its growing the same reason the suburbs are (or were recently) growing everywhere else in the nation.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

I wasn't talking about the race issue. If you want to get into it, you could say this is partially a legacy of the race issue, but indeed, these days its more about schools and perception of crime. Some people inevitably equate that with race, so I suppose thats an extra burden, but that's not really the driving issue anymore, in my mind.
I agree the schools are the biggest driving issue, but I'm not sure there has a been an urban city that fixed the school issues BEFORE some other sort of other motivation of urban revival changed the city's economic and residential patterns. As long as the schools are shrinking, and the most educated parts of the population take their kids out of the education system, I don't really see a solution to that.
Gas prices go up and down. It'd be nice to think people will move closer with higher gas prices, but even even they are high for a couple years, people's mindsets adjust and expect the higher gas prices without realizing it. My guess is they'd probably have to be 4 or 5 times higher for people here to actually change their behaviors. Perhaps. As it is, people drive 3 blocks to go to the corner store.

I didnt say your were. I was just saying its not an excuse to use for why people are leaving the central city.

[HipLib]

Anyone who know anything about the two cities would know that there is really no comparisson between Birmingham and Montgomery. Birmingham is a much larger city. As someone has already pointed out many of Montgomerys suburbs are in the city limits. Birmingham's are not.

[PortCity]

Birminghham could become the 4th largest city next cesnsus and it probably would steel seem bigger than Mobile,Montgomery,and Huntsville...Urban density will always stick.

[LH84]

If Birmingham falls to 4th place pouplation wise, it will continue to be the most urban city in the state for a very long time. Birmingham population reached a peak of 340,000 in 1960. The infrastructure to service that many people is still there and it would take decades for the fastest growing city in the state to reach a population of 340,000

[HsvCharger]

Blah Blah Blah all these bham people need to realize that there time is over. Mobile and Huntsville have better leaders, are more innovative and are getting away from the change is bad mantra that bham will forever be stuck in.