By David Sher
My wife and I just got back from a trip to Atlanta to visit our son and family.
Oh! The traffic.
Just shoot me!
Not even rush hour traffic—this was the weekend. Continue reading Birmingham ready to pounce on Atlanta’s vulnerability
Today’s guest columnist is Marshall Malone.
When people discuss issues in the City of Birmingham, they may mention crime, education, or population loss.
However, there’s one issue most people may not be aware.
By David Sher
I never saw it coming.
According to recently released U.S. Bureau of Census population estimates the City of Birmingham is now the 3rd largest city in Alabama.
Until 2020 Birmingham was the largest city in the state. Continue reading Birmingham suburbs, are you nervous yet?
Today’s guest columnist is Don Erwin.
To those of us optimistic about Birmingham (city and metro), the 2020 census numbers were like a bucket of cold water thrown in our faces.
Why weren’t the numbers better? Continue reading Census numbers kick Birmingham in the gut–but…
A graph of Jefferson County’s population over the past 50 years looks eerily like the EKG of a dead man.
It’s a straight line that goes neither up nor down. It lays dormant like a dead body.
Unfortunately that flat line now appears to represent the good ‘ole’ days. Continue reading How to turn around a shrinking Jefferson County
Editor’s note: ComebackTown’s celebrating its 8th anniversary. I thought it might be insightful to republish the very first piece (Jan. 3, 2012). Since publication, the City of Birmingham’s population has stabilized…and our region’s making great progress–all good news! Continue reading Can our suburbs survive if B’ham’s a donut hole?
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Alabama grew by about 12,751 people last year.
That’s less than a sellout crowd at Coleman Coliseum where Alabama plays basketball.
Continue reading Alabama: Stagnant and poorly educated (3 creative ideas)
The national media continue to beat us up–First The New York Times and now The Wall Street Journal.
In December of last year, The New York Times wrote a piece subtitled, “Nashville and others are thriving…while cities like Birmingham, Ala., fall behind.”
Continue reading Gardendale, Irondale, & Fultondale: The devil made us do it!
April 3, 2019 could be the biggest day in Birmingham history.
This is not an exaggeration.
Our region has historically been plagued with distrust and dysfunction. Continue reading Could be the biggest day in modern Birmingham history
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Jim Dixon. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
What makes a city great?
My team should know—we evaluate cities every day.
Our work as real estate developers requires us to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of cities and towns before we ever search for and underwrite development or investment opportunities. Continue reading The rocket fuel that could launch Birmingham!