Birmingham vs. Nashville - comparisons (highest, relocating, parks, beautiful)

[BuffaloHome]

Here are a couple of statistics to further show the differences between these two metro areas.

In 2001, Birmingham's GDP was $45,911,960, and in 2018 it had grown to $55,910,633. (+21.8%)
In 2001, Nashville's GDP was $67,276,859, and in 2018 it had grown to $117,839,496. (+75.2%)
(2012 dollars)

In 2017, Birmingham's per capita GDP was $48,640. In Nashville, it was $60,806.

And since city-data people have a fascination with skylines, in 1990 Birmingham and Nashville had similar skylines. Wikipedia lists 17 in Birmingham over 66 meters and 14 for Nashville over 80 meters back in 1990. I don't know why there's a different standard for each city (66 vs 80 meters).

Since 1990, Birmingham has had 0 new high rises, and there are none under construction and none planned.

Since 1990, Nashville has had 24 new high rises, and there are 13 under construction and another 24 planned.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by MTFan

Birmingham Metro has 1 Apple Store

Nashville Metro has 2 with a 3rd being built downtown right now.

3 Costcos, 3 Whole Foods, 3 Sprouts, 2 Trader Joes, 3 Premium Outlet Malls, T. J. Maxx Runway/Homegoods Store, Levy's, Restoration Hardware Flagship Store, Starbucks Reserve and too many high end boutiques to list. Nashville is one of the largest markets not to have a full line Saks or Neiman Marcus. With the decline of department stores in general, I am not sure if those will ever come to the region.

[Bamaman1]

Originally Posted by BuffaloHome

Here are a couple of statistics to further show the differences between these two metro areas.

In 2001, Birmingham's GDP was $45,911,960, and in 2018 it had grown to $55,910,633. (+21.8%)
In 2001, Nashville's GDP was $67,276,859, and in 2018 it had grown to $117,839,496. (+75.2%)
(2012 dollars)

In 2017, Birmingham's per capita GDP was $48,640. In Nashville, it was $60,806.

And since city-data people have a fascination with skylines, in 1990 Birmingham and Nashville had similar skylines. Wikipedia lists 17 in Birmingham over 66 meters and 14 for Nashville over 80 meters back in 1990. I don't know why there's a different standard for each city (66 vs 80 meters).

Since 1990, Birmingham has had 0 new high rises, and there are none under construction and none planned.

Since 1990, Nashville has had 24 new high rises, and there are 13 under construction and another 24 planned.

Birmingham has hills on the north and mountains on the south. The airport in Birmingham is pointed directly at downtown, and tall buildings would have to go elsewhere. You just cannot build a high rise building anywhere.

I once flew from Chicago into Huntsville at night. I was amazed at the lights on the ground as there was no dark from Bowling Green, KY all the way into Huntsville. And Nashville's surrounded by communities with substantial populations--far more than the communities surrounding Birmingham. Middle Tennessee is truly a megalopolis.

[cherokee48]

Originally Posted by Paulll

Interesting. What does Birmingham currently have, government wise?

Birmingham has the traditional Mayor/council style government, additionally the separate entity of Jefferson County has a Manager/council form of government and both bodies operate independently of each other. Nashville and other cities have combined their primary city and county entities into one and it gives an appearance as being much larger when in reality the urban footprint is much closer to the same for both Birmingham and Nashville. I think this is why Birmingham and Nashville are not several tiers apart as opposed to one tier right now and that is due to Nashville's growth in the 00's and beyond. Comparing both cities in a consolidated or at least cooperative manner the perceived gap is not as large as advertised, furthermore I think it also accounts for why people that visit both areas feel the similarities and see a worthwhile comparison. As a previous poster mentioned it impacts the statistical view of Birmingham when its compared to peers with a consolidated city/county style of government.

Birmingham AL Metro 1.2 Mil
Nashville TN Metro 1.9 Mil

*If Bham were to adopt a consolidated city/county form of government similar to Nashville, Jacksonville, Charlotte etc.
Birmingham AL Consolidated City/County* 658,000
Nashville TN Consolidated City/County 692,000

That's a big difference from Birmingham AL 212,000.

A big part of Birmingham's rebirth is a push for increased and aggressive regional cooperation and already it has paid dividends. The Protective life stadium under construction at the Uptown district, The World Games 2022, the renovation of Legacy Arena at the BJCC, the SEC Championship(Baseball) staying in Hoover all are part of the impact of leaders in Greater Birmingham speaking with one voice and unifying.

Jefferson County Mayors Cooperate on Pact to Prevent Intercity Business Poaching

https://parcalabama.org/jefferson-co...0the%20county.

[CinderFella7]

Originally Posted by nashvilledemographer

You can be proud of Birmingham without trying to compare it to Nashville. Different leagues. Nashville is looked at as a cultural epicenter like New York or LA. Birmingham should be compared to like Tallahassee or Baton Rouge.

Anyone can be proud of their city, without criticizing another city. I agree it's slightly different playing fields for the two cities. However, your post screams of "We're better than you" type attitude, the way you wrote that.
Hopefully it was unintentional. If that was intentional, I can't even.

Nashville is undoubtedly bigger in population than Birmingham.
Nashville's city population is 692,000 + while Birmingham's city population is around 209,000 +.

Nashville has: The Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall, Belle Meade Plantation, The Parthenon, Ryman Auditorium etc.

Birmingham has: Oak State Mountain Park, Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, McWane Science Center, Birmingham Civil Rights Tour etc.

Nashville is a large size city, and Birmingham is a medium size city. Both have their place in society.

Nashville's equivalents (for POPULATION) include: Portland, Boston, Memphis, Las Vegas, Denver, El Paso, Charlotte, Baltimore etc.

Birmingham's equivalents (for POPULATION) include: Salt Lake City, Raleigh, Richmond, Reno, Orlando, Rochester, Spokane, Modesto etc.

Remember, large cities were once medium cities too.

I will try to do a Nashville/Birmingham equivalent by amenities and such but that's a bit harder in my opinion.

[norcal2k19]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

Nashville has 4 HBCUs



Our current mayor is a departure from our previous three mayors. He lacks charisma, charm, friendly demeanor, experience. He exploited the black community to win by promising them he would not raise taxes and save a historical piece of land. He wants to cut spending in education, police, fire, and has not promoted a meaningful mass transit solution. He was the wrong choice and it will cost Nashville in the future.

I grew up in Nashville and noted three major HBCUs. I should've mentioned that before you replied to note my very intimate knowledge of my hometown. We know that American Baptist College, which notable, is small in national stature compared to the other three.

Cooper is disappointment; I agree. Also, I don't like how the Mayor and Congressperson come from the same family, which stretches back to the segregationist period in Middle Tennessee (yes Copper is a "moderate" Dem - Nashville doesn't elect Republicans generally). Luckily, the media and Metro Council are holding Cooper to account, especially on fiscal issues. Megan Barry is a good fit, but really messed up with the indiscretions while officially on public duty. My gut is telling me that Nashvillians would elect her again in a couple of years if subsequent leadership is a disaster.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Bamaman1

Birmingham has hills on the north and mountains on the south. The airport in Birmingham is pointed directly at downtown, and tall buildings would have to go elsewhere. You just cannot build a high rise building anywhere.

I once flew from Chicago into Huntsville at night. I was amazed at the lights on the ground as there was no dark from Bowling Green, KY all the way into Huntsville. And Nashville's surrounded by communities with substantial populations--far more than the communities surrounding Birmingham. Middle Tennessee is truly a megalopolis.

I think you're using the term "megalopolis" a bit liberally. Middle Tennessee has a cluster of relatively sizable urban areas, but it's not a megalopolis. There would need to be at least another urban area approaching the size of Nashville for the region to at least be considered an emerging megalopolis.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Paulll

Nashville's equivalents (for POPULATION) include: Portland, Boston, Memphis, Las Vegas, Denver, El Paso, Charlotte, Baltimore etc.

Birmingham's equivalents (for POPULATION) include: Salt Lake City, Raleigh, Richmond, Reno, Orlando, Rochester, Spokane, Modesto etc.

Um, no. Using city proper populations here is a huge non-starter. Urbanized area or MSA populations are a much more accurate indicator of true size. If Birmingham were to consolidate with Jefferson County today, in reality it wouldn't become a peer of Nashville's overnight.

[norcal2k19]

Originally Posted by cherokee48

Birmingham has the traditional Mayor/council style government, additionally the separate entity of Jefferson County has a Manager/council form of government and both bodies operate independently of each other. Nashville and other cities have combined their primary city and county entities into one and it gives an appearance as being much larger when in reality the urban footprint is much closer to the same for both Birmingham and Nashville. I think this is why Birmingham and Nashville are not several tiers apart as opposed to one tier right now and that is due to Nashville's growth in the 00's and beyond. Comparing both cities in a consolidated or at least cooperative manner the perceived gap is not as large as advertised, furthermore I think it also accounts for why people that visit both areas feel the similarities and see a worthwhile comparison. As a previous poster mentioned it impacts the statistical view of Birmingham when its compared to peers with a consolidated city/county style of government.

Birmingham AL Metro 1.2 Mil
Nashville TN Metro 1.9 Mil

*If Bham were to adopt a consolidated city/county form of government similar to Nashville, Jacksonville, Charlotte etc.
Birmingham AL Consolidated City/County* 658,000
Nashville TN Consolidated City/County 692,000

That's a big difference from Birmingham AL 212,000.

A big part of Birmingham's rebirth is a push for increased and aggressive regional cooperation and already it has paid dividends. The Protective life stadium under construction at the Uptown district, The World Games 2022, the renovation of Legacy Arena at the BJCC, the SEC Championship(Baseball) staying in Hoover all are part of the impact of leaders in Greater Birmingham speaking with one voice and unifying.

Jefferson County Mayors Cooperate on Pact to Prevent Intercity Business Poaching

https://parcalabama.org/jefferson-co...0the%20county.

Good points - I do want to note Jefferson County, AL total land area is nearly double the size of Davidson County, but with a similar population size.

If we used Jefferson County's total land area and compared it with Nashville, then Nashville is still larger.

[CinderFella7]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Um, no. Using city proper populations here is a huge non-starter. Urbanized area or MSA populations are a much more accurate indicator of true size. If Birmingham were to consolidate with Jefferson County today, in reality it wouldn't become a peer of Nashville's overnight.

Why "um, no"? I know many people love to use MSA's, and that's great. Go ahead and post comparable MSAs. All I did, was factually list cities that have the same CITY population as the two comparable cities.. Regardless if you agree with city vs msa comparison, I didn't post anything that is incorrect.