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?
Category Archives: Population
Alabama: Stagnant and poorly educated (3 creative ideas)
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)
Gardendale, Irondale, & Fultondale: The devil made us do it!
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!
Could be the biggest day in modern Birmingham history
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
The rocket fuel that could launch Birmingham!
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!
There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook
“There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook.”
It’s a bit unsettling, but that’s what a prominent Mountain Brook man says to me every time he sees me.
If you follow his logic, then you would assume I also would be the guy who would like to get rid of Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Trussville, and every other Jefferson County municipality. Continue reading There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook
Nashville’s goof may be Birmingham’s big break
There’s an old joke about the highly addicted smoker who complains, “I’ve read so much about the dangers of smoking that I’ve decided to quit reading.
That is how I feel about Nashville.
I read story after story about Nashville’s continued economic successes—recruiting companies—large and small to their city. Continue reading Nashville’s goof may be Birmingham’s big break
Why we should worry about what’s happening to Hoover
You’ve probably had the misfortune of noticing a few ants crawling around in your kitchen cabinet.
This is almost always a tell-tale sign that there are a lot more ants nearby.
That’s what we’re beginning to see with Hoover.
Continue reading Why we should worry about what’s happening to Hoover
Is Birmingham mayor crazy?
I’m impressed with Birmingham’s new Mayor–Randall Woodfin.
His first few months in office have been a whirlwind of positive energy.
He’s surrounded himself with good people, sought feedback from anyone who will talk to him, and slowly and methodically identified and prioritized Birmingham’s problems and opportunities. Continue reading Is Birmingham mayor crazy?
Mtn. Brook, Homewood, Vestavia wannabe gambles & loses
Rarely do you have an opportunity to read an article that clearly shows why we’ve had virtually no job growth in our metropolitan area.
Erin Edgemon of al.com recently wrote a piece about how a Jefferson County municipality took a big gamble and lost.
Continue reading Mtn. Brook, Homewood, Vestavia wannabe gambles & loses