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View Poll Results: Should Birmingham invest in "South Birmingham" for major growth?
Yes 12 48.00%
No 7 28.00%
Maybe, but... 6 24.00%
Voters: 25. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 01-14-2015, 03:03 PM
 
Location: Birmingham
779 posts, read 1,010,287 times
Reputation: 362

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Quote:
Originally Posted by steveklein View Post
Birmingham's trajectory has not drastically changed. A new downtown baseball park, some new restaurants, some new apartments... that is great and all... but there haven't really been any big time game changers. No new skyscrapers. No Fortune 500 companies moving their headquarters here.

If anything, Birmingham continues to lose on that front, and is certainly losing on that front compared to its contemporaries from yesteryear. If the city's trajectory doesn't change significantly, then 30 years from now people will be saying it is unfair to be comparing Birmingham to cities like Greenville-Spartanburg, Richmond, Tulsa, Louisville, etc.

Is Birmingham headed in the right direction? Maybe. But if it is, it is a tiny blip on an otherwise long, downward sloping graph. If it can truly rebound, then great. But even with this downtown boom, there are fewer people living in the city of Birmingham now than in 2000, 1990, 1980, 1970, 1960, 1950, 1940, and 1930.
What would the city of Birmingham do with a new skycraper at this present time?

New Skyscapers and Fortune 500 companies do not mark change... They are a result of it. Things do not happen overnight. Of course I would like to see a subway breakground and the tallest building in the southeast be erected but is there a need for it? Not yet. You mention the small changes and say that they aren't big. But they are. Why? Because suburban people who didn't come downtown for any reason are now enjoying the city center in Birmingham's new neighborhood... Parkside.

Listen, I'm not brainwashed. I don't think Birmingham is the greatest city in America. In fact, there are many times that I am bored and wish I were in Chicago or somewhere else. There are plenty of amenities that are missing for me. But I can't discount what has happened here. If I only live here another year, I'll still be excited that I've seen a transformation. Even if it's only a small one.
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Old 01-14-2015, 03:48 PM
 
1,892 posts, read 3,085,861 times
Reputation: 940
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhamoutlook View Post
What would the city of Birmingham do with a new skycraper at this present time?

New Skyscapers and Fortune 500 companies do not mark change... They are a result of it. Things do not happen overnight. Of course I would like to see a subway breakground and the tallest building in the southeast be erected but is there a need for it? Not yet. You mention the small changes and say that they aren't big. But they are. Why? Because suburban people who didn't come downtown for any reason are now enjoying the city center in Birmingham's new neighborhood... Parkside.

Listen, I'm not brainwashed. I don't think Birmingham is the greatest city in America. In fact, there are many times that I am bored and wish I were in Chicago or somewhere else. There are plenty of amenities that are missing for me. But I can't discount what has happened here. If I only live here another year, I'll still be excited that I've seen a transformation. Even if it's only a small one.
It reads as if you have a very healthy perspective on life.

One of my morbid amusements on the forum is how many cross their arms and demand 'show me'. As opposed to uncrossing their arms and getting down to work and making a difference. Cities are what people make of them, that would be among the reasons why they are constantly changing in regard to one another. There is nothing static about a city, it can never be counted out or declared the greatest, there are always contenders. Change, another word for 'life'.
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Old 01-14-2015, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Birmingham
11,787 posts, read 17,771,707 times
Reputation: 10120
Apparently its all about winning the internets in some form of C/D city v city thread to some people.

How many floors of all the towers, how many stack interchanges, how many certified gold albums released, how many hipsters, how many Waffle Houses, how many CCs of silicon/saline in all the implants, how much vibrancy/walkability/it factor/over/underatedness/next hot thing and on and on...

Every element just has to be quantified and compared to prove one place is better then another even if it means nothing to the day to day lives of the people who obsess over it so much.

Sure I'd like to see a new tower go up or a new company come in - but it has to be under the right circumstances and because the city itself has changed to require it. Having people walk around downtown and enjoy it is a big win, that just ten years or so ago was unheard of. Almost everyday some company moves from the outer rim to downtown. 20, 50, 100 people at a time, but the lights are coming back on.
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Old 01-15-2015, 10:12 AM
 
Location: Proud son of the south in Alabama
34 posts, read 36,251 times
Reputation: 82
Sure, why not?
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Old 03-08-2015, 08:41 AM
 
121 posts, read 164,304 times
Reputation: 29
Birmingham should annex more into Shelby county. Jeffco an Shelbyco could be an Urban epic center more than ever now . The 2 counties combined together populations reach almost 1.million.

Last edited by 205Bhamurbanite; 03-08-2015 at 08:43 AM.. Reason: visualization
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Old 03-08-2015, 08:46 AM
 
121 posts, read 164,304 times
Reputation: 29
What is the population of downtown? With all these apartments being developed I wonder what the population would be once complete. I'm thinking of 15,000-20,000 residents staying downtown BIRMINGHAM
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Old 10-11-2016, 09:04 PM
 
1 posts, read 658 times
Reputation: 15
You are so right I work At Wettermark Keith on 280 the traffic is terrible when we go on our lunches we literally have to order our lunch two hours early. It makes absolutely no sense. But I will say that This area is very very beautiful.
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