Should Birmingham heavily invest in "South Birmingham" for major new growth? (Greenville: 2015, apartments)

[Tourian]

"Pal."

Birmingham must have a special place in your heart to keep you coming back with new account after new account. This thread isn't about Nashville or Atlanta and my comment was about Birmingham vs the rest of Alabama. Deal with that, bruh or go leg-hump those cities' forums.

[FT897]

Well, I pray you guy's are not in the Birmingham metro. If you are may God help us!

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by FT897

I drove through Birmingham yesterday on I20/59. Traffic was not bad even with the Birmingham Bowl in town. Actually I passed through going to Locust Fork about 7am but came back through around 2pm. I miss the Liberty National statue that was on top of their building for many years.

Come to think of it I passed through Birmingham on January 1st on my way to Carrollton, GA too. Of course you don't interact too much with the city just passing through. But even with some construction going on the interstate through there seems in pretty good shape.

I do wonder why the gas prices are so much higher in Alabama than in Mississippi though. I bought gas for $1.91 along the interstate in Mississippi and the highest I saw was $1.95. In Alabama it's $2.09 and up to $2.19. I have always heard that Mississippi had higher state taxes on gas than any state surrounding it. Perhaps that has changed.

Originally Posted by FT897

Well, I pray you guy's are not in the Birmingham metro. If you are may God help us!

Ha ha. I like how your first posts in this thread tried to imply you were from somewhere else and were just providing an friendly outsiders point of view to now you being a concerned citizen with a recently updated location profile. Real slick.

[FT897]

Originally Posted by Tourian

Ha ha. I like how your first posts in this thread tried to imply you were from somewhere else and were just providing an friendly outsiders point of view to now you being a concerned citizen with a recently updated location profile. Real slick.

I did pass through Birmingham on those days. I don't live downtown. I don't live in a county that borders on Jefferson county either. But I am considered in the Birmingham metro these day's.

Now you seem to be from down low somewhere. I don't believe you are who you say you are and I cannot believe you live in the Birmingham area. And I think you have been coming in under many names to this forum to.

One thing for sure. I don't want you knowing where I live. I would not feel safe.

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by FT897

Like I said, If the metro area contains more cities then it would get more as compared to metro areas with less cities. The state should not pick parts of a metro over other parts of a metro, or other parts of the state. The state is there for the entire state and not just metro areas or some areas or some cities. Favoritism needs to be removed from the process.

You clearly do not understand how representative government works. (btw, that is the type we have in the USA)

[FT897]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

You clearly do not understand how representative government works. (btw, that is the type we have in the USA)

I fully understand we have a Representative Republic in this country. I also realize that this discussion has nothing to do with our federal government style but that of the state. Which for Alabama is also a form of Representative Republic. That still does not mean the state government should play favorites and ignore parts of the state.

[FT897]

Some people just love to hate. And hate is what has and is holding Birmingham back from what it could be.

[bhamoutlook]

I believe the entire Birmingham metro is poised for much growth. As I've said before, while I think every part of the city should receive attention, the biggest potential is always in high density projects. It costs the city less money in infrastructure and makes for a more attractive city in the eyes of most people. You'll always have the suburban dwellers... The trend has changed and people are moving back into the city centers but the suburbanites will remain. Nothing wrong with either. But I think a solid city center makes the entire area better.

FT897, as for our prior conversation before this all got sidetracked with negativity, I do understand your points. You made some great ones. I just think that from an economic perspective, we should always focus on what's going to bring the best outcome. If promoting the city of Birmingham helps the entire metro, then that's what should be done. If promoting the Birmingham metro helps the cities on the outside of that area, then that's what should be done. If that helps the whole state, then what's the problem?

We can't and shouldn't be compared to Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte or any other city that has far surpassed us in population and amenities that come with that. If we want to move there, we can. It's only a few hours away and the cost of living isn't all that different. I'm still not above moving to one of those cities or anywhere else. I'm not from Birmingham and have no real roots here. Nothing's stopping me. I just that that comparing a city to another city is pointless.

[FT897]

Originally Posted by bhamoutlook

I believe the entire Birmingham metro is poised for much growth. As I've said before, while I think every part of the city should receive attention, the biggest potential is always in high density projects. It costs the city less money in infrastructure and makes for a more attractive city in the eyes of most people. You'll always have the suburban dwellers... The trend has changed and people are moving back into the city centers but the suburbanites will remain. Nothing wrong with either. But I think a solid city center makes the entire area better.

FT897, as for our prior conversation before this all got sidetracked with negativity, I do understand your points. You made some great ones. I just think that from an economic perspective, we should always focus on what's going to bring the best outcome. If promoting the city of Birmingham helps the entire metro, then that's what should be done. If promoting the Birmingham metro helps the cities on the outside of that area, then that's what should be done. If that helps the whole state, then what's the problem?

We can't and shouldn't be compared to Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte or any other city that has far surpassed us in population and amenities that come with that. If we want to move there, we can. It's only a few hours away and the cost of living isn't all that different. I'm still not above moving to one of those cities or anywhere else. I'm not from Birmingham and have no real roots here. Nothing's stopping me. I just that that comparing a city to another city is pointless.

I agree that the city should focus on the areas of the city that will benefit all the most. But I don't believe the State should play favorites. That's all I am saying. Every city should only receive in proportion to what they pay into the state. It is not Birmingham's responsibility to pay for things in Mobile or Huntsville. It is not Hoovers responsibility to pay for Bessemer's projects. I think the state should remain neutral in it's use of tax dollars.

I do not believe government is the solution to our problems. Government is the problem. Any city or person that is waiting for a handout to move forward has there future facing the wrong direction.

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by bhamoutlook

I believe the entire Birmingham metro is poised for much growth. As I've said before, while I think every part of the city should receive attention, the biggest potential is always in high density projects. It costs the city less money in infrastructure and makes for a more attractive city in the eyes of most people. You'll always have the suburban dwellers... The trend has changed and people are moving back into the city centers but the suburbanites will remain. Nothing wrong with either. But I think a solid city center makes the entire area better.

FT897, as for our prior conversation before this all got sidetracked with negativity, I do understand your points. You made some great ones. I just think that from an economic perspective, we should always focus on what's going to bring the best outcome. If promoting the city of Birmingham helps the entire metro, then that's what should be done. If promoting the Birmingham metro helps the cities on the outside of that area, then that's what should be done. If that helps the whole state, then what's the problem?

We can't and shouldn't be compared to Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte or any other city that has far surpassed us in population and amenities that come with that. If we want to move there, we can. It's only a few hours away and the cost of living isn't all that different. I'm still not above moving to one of those cities or anywhere else. I'm not from Birmingham and have no real roots here. Nothing's stopping me. I just that that comparing a city to another city is pointless.

The whole point is that 50 years ago, Birmingham was as big or bigger than these cities. While they progressed, Birmingham stagnated. That's the whole point.