Category Archives: Population

What a fragmented Birmingham can learn from the most fragmented city in the U.S.

Ron Blatman
Ron Blatman

Today’s guest columnist is Ron Blatman.

I know cities.

I write about cities.

 I produce documented series about making cities better places.

I’ve always been fascinated with Birmingham, Alabama and… Continue reading What a fragmented Birmingham can learn from the most fragmented city in the U.S.

Is Jefferson County about to lose #1 license plate?

Alabama License Plate
Jefferson County license plates begin with the number 1.

By David Sher

I’m going to talk about Alabama’s  license plate codes to  belly-ache about our Birmingham regions lack of growth.

When I was a child traveling out of state and I saw an Alabama license plate beginning with the number 1, I would proudly proclaim to my family that the folks in that car were from Birmingham, and I would think to myself: Birmingham, the #1 city in Alabama.
Continue reading Is Jefferson County about to lose #1 license plate?

Birmingham doesn’t need Mtn. Brook, Vestavia, or Hoover to grow

Jeffrey Bayer
Jeffrey Bayer

Today’s guest columnist is Jeffrey Bayer.

Last week, after a successful annexation vote, Mayor Sandy Stimson of Mobile proudly proclaimed, “We’re bigger than Birmingham!”

Up until recently Birmingham was concerned about falling behind Huntsville.

Now we’ve fallen behind, not only Huntsville, but also Montgomery and Mobile. Continue reading Birmingham doesn’t need Mtn. Brook, Vestavia, or Hoover to grow

How Birmingham came within one vote of becoming a major U.S. city

Richard Pizitz
Dick Pizitz

Today’s guest columnist is Dick Pizitz.

In 1969, a future mayor of Birmingham, David Vann, recruited a few people to initiate a quiet campaign to consolidate all of the municipalities and unincorporated areas of Jefferson County into a single combined metropolitan government. Continue reading How Birmingham came within one vote of becoming a major U.S. city

Birmingham suburbs, are you nervous yet?

More than 50,000 people attended concert by Garth Brooks on June 4, 2022, at Protective Stadium. (Mary Colurso | mcolurso@AL.com)

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?

How to turn around a shrinking Jefferson County

Jefferson County

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

Can our suburbs survive if B’ham’s a donut hole?

DonutEditor’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?