Birmingham Discussion Thread

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by tredici

Well, the government can just tell them they can't do it, that would be illegal.

I'm assuming you meant to say "can't." It is only illegal if the government says it is. Otherwise, the Chinese could have come in here during the big bank fallout just recently and made a run on practically our whole economy. Of course our Government came in printed some money and bailed them out. I don't know for sure, but I think foreign bank activity is very limited here for reasons like that.

[Blazer85]

Anyone know what the big announcement is about tonight? Anyone going?

http://www.foundationbirmingham.org/...95970d$ADs$83$

[*BRAVO*]

I don't know but I'm excited.


Image Credit : Foundation Birmingham


Image Credit : Foundation Birmingham


Image Credit : Foundation Birmingham


I hope I got that crediting stuff correct.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Basically, they're offering a $50,000 reward for the best, most feasible, coolest, and most appealing idea that someone comes up with. The area that this idea would affect is the block directly east of Railroad Park.

I think it's a great idea. Kinda over-hyped, but I think this has potential. I'm thinking of some ideas. Maybe we should all submit an "Alabama forum" mass idea.

[Blazer85]

And for those wondering, this is a contest open to anyone in the world. So if you've got an idea for what to do with a block of land downtown and adjacent to the Railroad Park, it might be worth submitting your idea. You could win $50,000 for 1st place, $10,000 for 2nd place, or $5,000 for 3rd place.

[Dyingyak]

It was a little bit of a let-down after the hype. I thought it was going to be more than just a "city block" idea. Should be interesting to see how this whole thing shakes out, the City and Alabama Power aren't overly pleased the Community Foundation on this from the grumblings I've heard.

[*BRAVO*]

I think the community involvement is really cool. I wish the footprint was larger but finding an entire available block is probably tough. Especially next to a brand new park.

So... who's submitting an idea? I am.

[*BRAVO*]

Super cool article about a super cool lady. The New York Times recently published an article praising Cathy Crenshaw's efforts to revitalize the Lakeview District and downtown. You'd sing her praises too if you've visited the Pepper Place Farmer's Market.

Crenshaw gets a plug in the New York Times
Birmingham Business Journal - by Ty West
Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 2:39pm CST

Our area has had its share of publicity in the national media over the years.

Unfortunately, it was often not the kind of publicity we wanted.

That's why it's refreshing to see the NYT's profile of Cathy Crenshaw and her efforts to revitalize Birmingham's Lakeview District.

Birmingham Business Journal Article

New York Times Article

New York Times Slideshow

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Bids have been opened for the Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility in McCalla!

[*BRAVO*]

Glad to hear the development. Have mixed feelings on the location. Seems like there should be ample available land closer to the city core. Maybe not?

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by *BRAVO*

Glad to hear the development. Have mixed feelings on the location. Seems like there should be ample available land closer to the city core. Maybe not?

Usually these facilities require massive amounts of land. Large rail yards. I'm sure if you get on Google or Bing maps and scan over the midwest for long enough, you'll find ENORMOUS facilities are take up over half of the entire city. This won't be of that magnitude, but it's still gonna be large.

They could have selected a better location, yea, but bringing it closer to the city center would probably have caused problems with traffic on the interstates with all the new semi traffic this is gonna bring in.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

So, has anyone submitted an idea to that Next Big Thing, thing? I kinda want to, but the problem is that I can't exactly come up with any kinda visual stuff.

[Sahs]

Originally Posted by tredici

So, has anyone submitted an idea to that Next Big Thing, thing? I kinda want to, but the problem is that I can't exactly come up with any kinda visual stuff.

I am working on an idea. I am using Autocad, though I'm sort of using this contest to sort of learn how it works. So, my drawings won't really be stunning. You can get Google Sketchup to do some drawings, I think it has a bunch of the same features.

[*BRAVO*]

We's getting smarter.

Birmingham ranks as one of brainiest cities
Birmingham Business Journal - by Lauren B. Cooper
Date: Friday, February 18, 2011, 11:19am CST

Birmingham is getting more brain power, according to a recent Forbes article.

The magazine published findings from analysis of the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, ranking them by increases in people with college educations using U.S. Census Bureau data from 2007 to 2009....

The top 10 were:

1. New Orleans
2. Raleigh, N.C.
3. Austin, Texas
4. Nashville
5. Kansas City, Mo.
6. Birmingham
7. San Diego
8. Denver
9. Columbus, Ohio
10. Seattle

Link

[TimCity2000]

census 2010 estimates put birmingham's population at just over 210,000

i really am shocked that the city could have lost 30,000+ residents in 10 years. i thought we might have actually started to level off.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

census 2010 estimates put birmingham's population at just over 210,000

i really am shocked that the city could have lost 30,000+ residents in 10 years. i thought we might have actually started to level off.

I really thought the city had started to rebound. But, I'm not too concerned, the city will probably drop from the top spot in the next decade or two, but I really don't see it lasting.

I'm really quite confident in the city's leadership now, and I really think that they'll turn the city around. There is proof all over the country that improving the core of a city sets of a ripple effect and helps the ENTIRE region. The city just needs to keep working away at encouraging more UAB growth, more downtown investment (both public and private), and simply watching the budget and keeping things in motion.

For the first time in a while, I'm really quite optimistic.

[Sahs]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

census 2010 estimates put birmingham's population at just over 210,000

i really am shocked that the city could have lost 30,000+ residents in 10 years. i thought we might have actually started to level off.

I too am surprised the drop was so significant. I wonder what areas of bham lost the most residents. Hopefully this encourages the administration even harder to fix underlying issues and reverse the trend in the future.

[TimCity2000]

i can proudly say that i was one of the (apparently) few who bucked the trend... i moved from shelby county to the city of birmingham in 2007.

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

i can proudly say that i was one of the (apparently) few who bucked the trend... i moved from shelby county to the city of birmingham in 2007.

Good because I don`t know what is so special about Shelby County.

[Sahs]

U.S. Census: Birmingham population down by 30,000, but downtown and UAB areas see gains
by Thomas Spencer - The Birmingham News
Published: Sunday, February 27, 2011, 6:00 AM

Buried in the gloomy news the 2010 U.S. Census delivered for the city of Birmingham was at least a glimmer of hope: Two census tracts comprising downtown and UAB gained population over the past decade, a trend that can be capitalized going forward if the city makes a concerted effort.

"There needs to be a plan," said Jeremy Erdreich, an architect involved in downtown redevelopment.

The two tracts in the center city added 2,209 residents, far too few to offset declines elsewhere.
---------------------------------------------
Good to see at the least the city center is making progress on attracting more residents to the city center. I guess the census wasn't all bad news.