Discussion Thread (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Jacksonville: real estate, 2013, leases)

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Probably because of how many commute into the city now on I-22. You can literally reach downtown Birmingham from Jasper faster than you can from Alabaster with lower odds of heavy traffic. In fact, I would lay even odds that Walker gets sucked back into the Birmingham metro area after the 2030 census.

Might be sooner than that. Best I can tell, it's time for new metro definitions to come out, probably in June. You never can tell, but that's what they say. Apparently major updates come every 5 years, and the last was 2018. The 2020 update was just a minor one (but that's when Walker County was removed).

[mcalumni01]

They "revised" Tuscaloosa population number because...

https://www.wbrc.com/2023/06/20/newl...nt-tuscaloosa/

"Census workers took another look and agreed the 2020 count took place during the pandemic. The University of Alabama being shut down during the pandemic meant the students were not in town. Those factors affected the true picture of Tuscaloosa’s population."

Walt Maddox also mentioned all the apartments that has gone up in Tuscaloosa that it was no way the count was correct. Tuscaloosa count for 2020 was 99,960.

Haha.

[OldBankhead]

Well, we all know construction and apartments going up means nothing of course snd can't affect the count. And UAB only has around 22k students. Every single one of them lives outside of the city limits.

[GotLuv4Bham]

Originally Posted by OldBankhead

Well, we all know construction and apartments going up means nothing of course snd can't affect the count. And UAB only has around 22k students. Every single one of them lives outside of the city limits.

The census has no credibility with me anymore. When they said Montgomery was larger than us, I laughed out loud, and refused to take them seriously! Anyone with a functional brain can see that Birmingham is bigger than Montgomery. But hey, what can you do?

[OldBankhead]

Originally Posted by GotLuv4Bham

The census has no credibility with me anymore.

Agreed. It is interesting to me see Maddox be open about challenging it and getting results. This, along with Mobile's attempt to annex more land shows how it affects the mindset of these leaders. 200 (and 100k apparently) I thought were important thresholds to meet for federal aid, so it's unfortunately convenient for three of Alabama's largest cities to fall juuuuust below that number. If it really is an issue, I would hope Woodfin has a plan... or maybe they do and just aren't to the point of discussing it publicly.

Originally Posted by Nemean

On top of that, Birmingham proper owns a good chunk of empty land in that direction. Northern Smithfield Estates and Hooper City are practically wilderness, and not in the it's-bend-abandoned sort of way, but rather the there-was-never-development-there-in-the-first-place sort.

I think all that space will take care of itself. Seems like a push to build warehouses and logistical freight facilities here lately.

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by GotLuv4Bham

The census has no credibility with me anymore. When they said Montgomery was larger than us, I laughed out loud, and refused to take them seriously! Anyone with a functional brain can see that Birmingham is bigger than Montgomery. But hey, what can you do?

??? Explain. City propers are rarely considered in other states to my knowledge. It seems the only people who care about this are Alabama folks. Dallas is Texas's third largest city, but no one ever bxxches and complains about it. ATL has a population of like 450k but you never hear people jump up and down saying "YEAH BUT A METRO OF 6.5 MILLION". They just kinda say ok and move on. But in Alabama, by golly we care!

Reminds me of anytime you mention Mardi Gras around someone from Mobile they without fail say "hey you know mardi gras started in Mobile you know?" Like ok?? who cares? and you really lost that competition because MG in Mobile sucks compared to NO, every body knows that and no one cares where it started. Just like no one cares that BIrmingham could have been Atlanta had we gotten the airport.

It wreaks of Napoleon complex.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by mcalumni01

They "revised" Tuscaloosa population number because...

https://www.wbrc.com/2023/06/20/newl...nt-tuscaloosa/

"Census workers took another look and agreed the 2020 count took place during the pandemic. The University of Alabama being shut down during the pandemic meant the students were not in town. Those factors affected the true picture of Tuscaloosa’s population."

Walt Maddox also mentioned all the apartments that has gone up in Tuscaloosa that it was no way the count was correct. Tuscaloosa count for 2020 was 99,960.

Haha.

I read that as well. But wouldn't Tuscaloosa's gain mean other areas lost population, over half of which are out of state?

[mcalumni01]

https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingh...marketing.html

As a marketer and someone passionate about our city, I’ve long-envisioned organizing an event that would bring the world’s greatest marketing leaders to Birmingham. My logic has been that if Davos, Switzerland and Park City, Utah – cities that aren’t nearly as important as Birmingham – can host the World Economic Forum and the Sundance Film Festival, then we can host the world’s premiere event for marketing leaders.

Based on that vision, the Chief Marketing Officer Institute and the UAB Collat School of Business recently hosted dozens of marketers from around the U.S. for a symposium on the topic of marketing leadership. Of course, having CMOs from companies such as Equifax, NASCAR and Truist — as well as thought leaders from Clemson, Penn State, UNC Chapel Hill and the renowned consulting firm McKinsey & Co. – provided a unique opportunity to tap into their collective wisdom. So, through live interviews and follow-up correspondence, I asked the attendees a question:

“If you were the mayor of Birmingham, how would you market the city to the rest of the world?”

As several respondents pointed out, it’s an unfair question. When done properly, marketing is strategic and data-driven. Asking a marketer to instantly develop a campaign for a “product” as multi-layered as metro Birmingham – without the benefit of a defined strategy, nor any data and analysis – is like asking a physician to do surgery without telling them what’s wrong with the patient.

That being said, the qualitative “gut reaction” among the thought leaders fell into several themes, including:

• A Hidden Gem: As Alabama ranks at the bottom of categories like education (44th), health care (44th), and crime/corrections (40th), it’s understandable if preconceived notions of Birmingham aren’t always pretty. However, based on the feedback of the marketing leaders who responded, it’s clear that Birmingham needs to create a brand which is distinct from the state – just as bustling New York City is distinct from the rolling Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York.

• “A Complete Package”: Out-of-town visitors were surprised at the degree of beauty, culture, and diversity Birmingham offers – from the tree-covered hills surrounding the city and the sparkling facilities of UAB, to our rich civil rights history and world-class food scene, visiting marketing leaders were surprised with how much Birmingham has to offer.

• A Culture of Friendliness: Above all, attendees marveled at the friendliness of everyone they met. While those of us living here may take it for granted, Southern hospitality is inextricably rooted in our local culture.

These collective observations confirm that metro Birmingham is a high-quality, differentiated product. With that, those who did comment on how Birmingham should market itself also had a common theme. With a defined audience, a solid strategy and a refined brand in place, attendees of the CMO Symposium were clear on one thing – we need to amplify our message.

Although the BBA, EDPA and GBCVB are staffed with some of the brightest minds in our city, there’s clearly something missing in the efforts of those important organizations, which results in visitors being invariably surprised by what Birmingham has to offer.

While none of the attendees of the symposium suggested it, my own conclusion is that Birmingham needs its own CMO – and an ongoing campaign to tell our story. While misperceptions of marketing are rampant, one thing is for sure: skilled marketing leaders deliver significant returns on investment when they have appropriate support and resources. What’s more, a reputation as one of the great cities of the South – or as one of the greatest cities in the world – would serve almost everyone in the Birmingham metro area well and pay dividends long into the future.

[Nemean]

Tangentially related: In the back of my mind sleeping in the corner, I've had a start of a board game based around Birmingham. It'd be "Annexation: the Board Game" where each player is a "municipality" trying to collect different neighborhoods to become the prime city of the metro. Each neighborhood would have a list of resource regions with different benefits if "developed" (maybe each neighborhood starts off with X free development markers based off population); a neighborhood requirement to stay in a municipality; and a penalty that results in a crime token if the neighborhood is neglected (which blocks a resource region). For Example, the Ensley community could have unique resources like Birmingport and Tuxedo Junction. Montevallo can have Golly Hole, American Village, Montevallo University etc. Mountain Brook can have a neighborhood requirement that neighborhood schools have high achievement. Grandview/Colonnade can get a crime token if businesses aren't properly regulated (Healthsouth).

The main things preventing me from actually putting effort into it are a) choosing how to group up areas and not knowing all the areas that well to come up with resources, 2) would need a way to ensure multiple player interaction and iii) would need to make sure it doesn't get too complicated/take too long, and is actually fun.

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by GotLuv4Bham

The census has no credibility with me anymore. When they said Montgomery was larger than us, I laughed out loud, and refused to take them seriously! Anyone with a functional brain can see that Birmingham is bigger than Montgomery. But hey, what can you do?

lol.

does anyone think that if the census had shown birmingham as one of the fastest growing cities in the country that GOTLUV4BHAM would still give the census credibility?

do you also think the census got it wrong in 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010? Also got it it wrong in every year in between they did estimates?

sure, there were problems in the 2020 census that could lead to slightly higher erroneous counts, but this notion that birmingham is growing rapidly is just a dream in your head. maybe 10 or 15 of the 99 neighborhoods are really adding residents. Most have stagnated or declined over the last 70 years.

but just lol at not taking the census seriously anymore. that's fine. nobody has ever taken you seriously.