Uncool News (Birmingham, Black: to live, vs., stats)

[pjg66]

Originally Posted by steveklein

montgomery passed birmingham for 2nd place in most populous city in alabama

Yes, if you look at the cities themselves, the order is Huntsville, Montgomery, Birmingham.

But if you look at the corresponding metro areas, based on 2021 census data the order becomes:

Birmingham (1,114,262)
Huntsville (502,728)
Montgomery (385,798)

Birmingham metro remains by far the largest in the state, but from 2020 to 2021 its growth was stagnant (it lost 448 people, which is statistically insignificant). This was due mainly to losses in Jefferson County (which includes big losses in the city of Birmingham, although many of the people who left Birmingham probably stayed in the metro area). Several other counties in the metro area exhibited reasonably healthy growth, but not enough to overcome the Jeffco losses.

In contrast, during that period Huntsville metro gained 8,710 people for a growth rate of 1.8%.

[Jack Apple]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

Downtown, UAB, 5 Points and immediate surrounding areas are experiencing major flooding right now.

I'm at work on 280 so I'm relying on photos from James Spann's Twitter feed and from other friends of mine, but I've never seen it like this!

I've just now seen your post. Scary news, especially as I've been trying for 10 years to move back to Birmingham and have been especially interested in Southside.

I am relieved to read that you'd never seen flooding like what you saw last March because I was starting to wonder if this was a frequent occurrence (I never heard of anything like it in all the years I lived in Birmingham).

Glad to know James Spann is still around.
I hope you and your friends came out of it OK.

[Jack Apple]

Originally Posted by preguntas

Macy has not been a midscale store in fifteen to twenty years. There is no market in that geography for what they are selling.

Only the home store was still going well. Macy is also closing all over the US each year now for years, and that is about US retail and Macy, not the Birmingham market. They have not been opening stores in a long time.

This store is closing it is not moving. That is not how that works. If another pops up in a smaller area that does not even support one Dillard store well then that is another example of why US retail is in trouble.

If you do a google or two, you will find that there were rumors that claimed to be fact that Von Maur was going to open another location in Alabama. That has been quite a few years ago right after Von Maur opened at the Galleria. The rumor mill in Alabama is what is actually flourishing.

Depressing news about Macy's. It is an institution. I remember when it opened in Birmingham. I grew up with it, and Rich's, in Atlanta (back then it was called Davison's in Atlanta, presumably because "Macy's" was a NYC name and it was competing with Rich's ("Atlanta owned, Atlanta operated").

I haven't been able to afford Macy's for years, unless they were having a sale (and when they had sales they had great ones!).

Oh, well, I don't know that I'd want to shop at the Galleria anymore anyway, not with shootings in the Food Court.

[_OT]

What happened to the Leeds Mall? I don’t like the trend it’s going. It seems like every time I come home there’s a store leaving or missing. I wanted to buy some cheap T-Shirts and found out the VF Outlet wasn’t there anymore.

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by pjg66

Yes, if you look at the cities themselves, the order is Huntsville, Montgomery, Birmingham.

But if you look at the corresponding metro areas, based on 2021 census data the order becomes:

Birmingham (1,114,262)
Huntsville (502,728)
Montgomery (385,798)

Birmingham metro remains by far the largest in the state, but from 2020 to 2021 its growth was stagnant (it lost 448 people, which is statistically insignificant). This was due mainly to losses in Jefferson County (which includes big losses in the city of Birmingham, although many of the people who left Birmingham probably stayed in the metro area). Several other counties in the metro area exhibited reasonably healthy growth, but not enough to overcome the Jeffco losses.

In contrast, during that period Huntsville metro gained 8,710 people for a growth rate of 1.8%.

Yeah, Birmingham will be the largest metro for quite some time, probably forever. There's still a big difference in the "feel" of each metro. You can actually get some "city" vibes from Bham. But it is disconcerting that it continues to slide backwards. It's frustrating seeing people on this board talk about such a renaissance and downtown transformation with all then new apartments/condos being built. What they fail to realize is - that's great and it's keeping Bham from sliding backwards faster but it pails in comparison to what's going on in other cities, actual growth, major change, etc. Bham folks think our city is on the move and keeping up - it's not. That's why people are choosing to live other places. And whether you like it or not, those big yellow words painted on the streets doesn't exactly welcome the crowd you desperately want to see move into your urban spaces. Yep said it.

But yeah, Huntsville and Montgomery feel like small towns compared to Bham - which they actually are.

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

And whether you like it or not, those big yellow words painted on the streets doesn't exactly welcome the crowd you desperately want to see move into your urban spaces. Yep said it.

I wouldn't want to live around people who get upset over "Black Lives Matter" being painted on a street. I also would love to see more and more Black and Brown people moving downtown. One of the things I like about Railroad Park is the diverse mix of people, and I imagine many younger (I'm not) folks aren't interested in maintaining the racist neighborhood segregation of the past.

[wardamnbham]

Originally Posted by BamaDave

I wouldn't want to live around people who get upset over "Black Lives Matter" being painted on a street. I also would love to see more and more Black and Brown people moving downtown. One of the things I like about Railroad Park is the diverse mix of people, and I imagine many younger (I'm not) folks aren't interested in maintaining the racist neighborhood segregation of the past.

This. Those who would be offended by that aren't the kind of people you'd want in a neighborhood anyway.

[Jack Apple]

Originally Posted by wardamnbham

This. Those who would be offended by that aren't the kind of people you'd want in a neighborhood anyway.

Why wouldn't you? Wouldn't you rather live in a neighborhood where you can leave your car out in the driveway overnight and have it there in the morning in the same condition in which you left it? A neighborhood where you aren't awakened by gunshots in the middle of the night? Or shot through your bedroom window by a gang fight while you're sleeping?

The thing some people seem to forget -- or disregard -- is that ALL lives matter. White, black, brown, female, male, children's, seniors', everyone's.

[TimCity2000]

Originally Posted by Jack Apple

Why wouldn't you? Wouldn't you rather live in a neighborhood where you can leave your car out in the driveway overnight and have it there in the morning in the same condition in which you left it? A neighborhood where you aren't awakened by gunshots in the middle of the night? Or shot through your bedroom window by a gang fight while you're sleeping?

which neighborhoods are you referring to? i live in the city of birmingham and have never had my car stolen or broken into, nor have i had a window in my house shot out. seriously, where does this stuff come from? you seem to have made up your mind about the city (and Southside in particular), so why are you even asking about it if you feel like any of that stuff is going to happen to you?

Originally Posted by Jack Apple

The thing some people seem to forget -- or disregard -- is that ALL lives matter. White, black, brown, female, male, children's, seniors', everyone's.

good grief. the entire point of the BLM movement is to remind people (especially authorities) that Black Lives Matter TOO. of course all lives matter. but to use that as a refrain to BLM is being willfully ignorant.

[Zachadoo92]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

which neighborhoods are you referring to? i live in the city of birmingham and have never had my car stolen or broken into, nor have i had a window in my house shot out. seriously, where does this stuff come from? you seem to have made up your mind about the city (and Southside in particular), so why are you even asking about it if you feel like any of that stuff is going to happen to you?




good grief. the entire point of the BLM movement is to remind people (especially authorities) that Black Lives Matter TOO. of course all lives matter. but to use that as a refrain to BLM is being willfully ignorant.

Okay just for curiosities sake: which “diverse” neighborhood in Birmingham do you live in? He very well might have a negative association with Black neighborhoods,but so does my mixed girlfriend.

As for the BLM street painting: it was ridiculous pandering and nothing more. Nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing. White liberals can pat themselves on the back for a job well done though.

I know someone above mentioned railroad park and liking it for being diverse: yes I would generally agree, but could there be something done about the black Hebrew Israelite racists who post up on the corner preaching all the time?