When I was Board Chair of Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (now BBA), in 2005, we hired an economic development consultant.
He flew to town the night before our first meeting and stayed at the Tutwiler Hotel. While sitting at the bar that evening he engaged in conversation with one of our locals. Continue reading The Birmingham story we never expected to tell
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Wendy Jackson. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
When it comes to great walking, jogging, and cycling—Birmingham doesn’t usually come to mind.
EV World selected Birmingham as one America’s five least bike-friendly cities…
“Growth has led to sprawl, but city planning has lagged behind in growth when it comes to bicycle and pedestrian safety…a lack of bike lanes and useful paths across the city make it one of the least bike-friendly cities in the United States.”
Well, we’ve had enough and we’re going to change the landscape of Birmingham forever.
Continue reading Massive trail system planned for Birmingham
Have you ever heard someone say, “Birmingham’s limited because we don’t have the wealth of other cities?”
That’s just not true.
Many of us think of Birmingham as this impoverished town with low wages and a poor standard of living. But the facts and actions of our citizens tell another story.
I first got a hint of Birmingham’s wealth when the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) hired Market Street Services to prepare its strategic plan. One of the statistics presented was income per capita—a number I expected to be low–but I was wrong. Continue reading Birmingham: much richer than you think
One hundred years from now, when historians write the history of Birmingham, 2013 will be the year they say changed everything.
Birmingham’s been called the “City of Perpetual Promise.” We’ve been described as the “Magic City” at our zenith and as the “Most segregated city in America” at our low point.
We’ve always been a great place to live, but not a great city. 2013 will be the year Birmingham begins its long-hard journey to become that great city. Continue reading Can Birmingham get over its low self-esteem?
We need your help.
We’d like you to take action.
Do you know what’s really wrong with Birmingham?
We concentrate on our shortcomings and don’t celebrate our victories.
A funny thing happened while we were wallowing in self-pity. Continue reading Birmingham’s back–tell the world