Birmingham's Thirty Years Of Stupid (safe, transportation, getaway)

[mcalumni01]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

Well there is a city 150 miles east of here that people swear they dont want to become anything like but could learn a lot from.

that city you talking about is a sport and entertainment capital of the south. damn near every tv show and movies these days are produced in that city. it has 4 professional sports franchises....of course people are going to migrate their just off those 2 things alone. people are attracted to sports and entertainment. and both goes hand and hand with each other. nightlife along in that city makes people move their. even people trying to make it in the entertainment business from Alabama relocated to that city. if bham had both of those qualities, the sprawl would be uncontrollable. since it don't (well not the sports teams), it takes more than one visits alone to get people to migrate here. it's gone take more than a weekend events to get people to say "hey this is a happening town". the majority of people already have this idea of what Birmingham is and looks like but they don't actually know about the progress that's happening right now. Birmingham is in a tough area of cities around then. Nashville to the north, Atlanta to the east, florida and gulf coast to the south, new orleans and texas to the west...so bham should focus first on people of this state and surrounding counties then the rest down the road.

[Freeminds]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

Well there is a city 150 miles east of here that people swear they dont want to become anything like but could learn a lot from.

Apparently, that one doesn't count, remember.

[Freeminds]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Not sure I would want to live in a city with 4 million in the metro. About the only one I would want to emulate in terms of amenities would be San Francisco. Even then the real estate prices are exorbitant. To me, the metros to emulate are the ones that have a population under four million. Minneapolis, Denver, Charlotte, and Portland come to mind.

Ok, now I see where you are coming from. Not really "big" city guy.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by Freeminds

Apparently, that one doesn't count, remember.

Why not?. We can't wish it away.

A metro area of 3 or 4 million wouldnt bother me. I would welcome it.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by mcalumni01

that city you talking about is a sport and entertainment capital of the south. damn near every tv show and movies these days are produced in that city. it has 4 professional sports franchises....of course people are going to migrate their just off those 2 things alone. people are attracted to sports and entertainment. and both goes hand and hand with each other. nightlife along in that city makes people move their. even people trying to make it in the entertainment business from Alabama relocated to that city. if bham had both of those qualities, the sprawl would be uncontrollable. since it don't (well not the sports teams), it takes more than one visits alone to get people to migrate here. it's gone take more than a weekend events to get people to say "hey this is a happening town". the majority of people already have this idea of what Birmingham is and looks like but they don't actually know about the progress that's happening right now. Birmingham is in a tough area of cities around then. Nashville to the north, Atlanta to the east, florida and gulf coast to the south, new orleans and texas to the west...so bham should focus first on people of this state and surrounding counties then the rest down the road.

Over 80% of the people living in Birmingham are Alabama natives. Oh and BTW Atlanta has 3 pro sports teams.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by Freeminds

Ok, now I see where you are coming from. Not really "big" city guy.

Well, depends on how you define 'big.' 4,000,000 seems to me to be a rather arbitrary benchmark. For example, I'm not sure anyone would define Seattle or San Diego as small or even mid-sized. Unless, of course, one comes from New York or L.A.

[raj kapoor]

In traveling I have become subtly aware while staying in a city that I have a comfort zone going on. Easy to get around, not too hard to figure out directions, neighborhoods that are easily identified as safe or just bohemian. Weather , of course. Things that I like to do plus some surprises. Other criteria I won't mention here.

Now, when the above goes through my mind during a stay I have noticed that I get a good, at home kind of feeling in certain cities. Those cities invariable have about three million people in MSA or slightly less. So , I have come to realize that is my comfort zone for cities. I have found cities that use to be favorites have dropped from my list of go to places after too much surge in growth.

I think that there is a population mass needed to support many amenities, obviously. And after that mass has been met, if growth does not level off the reverse action begins to occur. Instead of added amenities , the city begins to add distractions in the form of overburdened infrastructure. Obviously transportation, but also, one can't expect to just walk into a nice café without a wait, or go to a gallery showing without too many people to distract from what one would want to actually be doing in the gallery. Going to parks that are no longer a getaway, but a place that one starts to avoid.

I understand some people thrive on that, but for me, just as I don't want to be in a city too small, I don't want to be in a city that is losing control of what made people want to be there in the first place.

I think it is wise to know ones self when it comes to this sort of thing.

I will leave my best example although there are many I could choose from. I once loved spending a great deal of time in Dallas. It is still like a second home. But I am far happier now when I spend that time in San Antonio and just run up to Dallas for a day or two. San Antonio reached that mass at just the time Dallas really surpassed the next plateau, which for me is six million. I just don't function well at that level in most cities. EVERTHING at that level is STRESSFUL to me.

Food for thought, perhaps

raj

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Well, depends on how you define 'big.' 4,000,000 seems to me to be a rather arbitrary benchmark. For example, I'm not sure anyone would define Seattle or San Diego as small or even mid-sized.

You are right , of course. This is all so subjective. It really is about what flavor of ice cream you prefer. How does anyone else's preference really have anything to do with another.

raj

[Freeminds]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

Why not?. We can't wish it away.

A metro area of 3 or 4 million wouldnt bother me. I would welcome it.

Ask all the people on this forum. I like Atlanta despite its flaws.

[Freeminds]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Well, depends on how you define 'big.' 4,000,000 seems to me to be a rather arbitrary benchmark. For example, I'm not sure anyone would define Seattle or San Diego as small or even mid-sized. Unless, of course, one comes from New York or L.A.

It's starts another tier at about 4-5 million. Then about 8-9 million you get into megalopolis level.