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They mentioned at the end of the story that B'ham is now only 19,000 larger than Huntsville which means Mobile (probably #2) is somewhere in between.

If the state leadership keeps boosting Mobile and Huntsville by recruiting new industry for them while hobbling B'ham while doing nothing for it, B'ham may be dropping down the list by 2030.

It is not only other state's major centers that are growing in population and political power.

You're wrong on so many levels. A) Montgomery is second behind Birmingham. Huntsville grew, but another reason it is third is because Mobile is shrinking worse than Birmingham (Birmingham actually was flat for the past 6 years, didn't shrink). Finally, metro areas matter way more than the central city populations, and Birmingham is not even remotely close to anyone else. Birmingham-Hoover metro area is 1.14 million as of 2014's estimate, and Huntsville, the next largest metro area, was 441,086 as of the 2014 estimate

Now, I agree that the state economic development folks have been screwing Birmingham for a long time, and basically leaving the region to fend for themselves, but it's not the end of the world, Birmingham is still the economic and population center of the state.

Huntsville lives off of federal contracts. Redstone arsenal and the low cost of living contribute greatly to the growth in the area.

(05-26-2017 07:01 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  You're wrong on so many levels. A) Montgomery is second behind Birmingham. Huntsville grew, but another reason it is third is because Mobile is shrinking worse than Birmingham (Birmingham actually was flat for the past 6 years, didn't shrink). Finally, metro areas matter way more than the central city populations, and Birmingham is not even remotely close to anyone else. Birmingham-Hoover metro area is 1.14 million as of 2014's estimate, and Huntsville, the next largest metro area, was 441,086 as of the 2014 estimate

Now, I agree that the state economic development folks have been screwing Birmingham for a long time, and basically leaving the region to fend for themselves, but it's not the end of the world, Birmingham is still the economic and population center of the state.

When you change the context by adding "metro area" that changes the population definition. ABC 33/40 did not say "metro area" population, only city populations.

Chances are that Hoover, with its Shelby County component population, will move up during the next census period as it enters its second 50 years of existence. Mobile is more difficult to rank since it legally combined city and county government years ago. If B'ham could do the same, it would make a big difference in its population ranking.

The provencialism that drives Alabama culture is illustrated by the now 12 separate school districts in Jeffco. Which Jeffco city will be the next to set up its own schools? If you count Hoover, Shelby County has three city districts and more may be coming.

(05-26-2017 12:29 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  

(05-26-2017 07:01 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  You're wrong on so many levels. A) Montgomery is second behind Birmingham. Huntsville grew, but another reason it is third is because Mobile is shrinking worse than Birmingham (Birmingham actually was flat for the past 6 years, didn't shrink). Finally, metro areas matter way more than the central city populations, and Birmingham is not even remotely close to anyone else. Birmingham-Hoover metro area is 1.14 million as of 2014's estimate, and Huntsville, the next largest metro area, was 441,086 as of the 2014 estimate

Now, I agree that the state economic development folks have been screwing Birmingham for a long time, and basically leaving the region to fend for themselves, but it's not the end of the world, Birmingham is still the economic and population center of the state.

When you change the context by adding "metro area" that changes the population definition. ABC 33/40 did not say "metro area" population, only city populations.

Chances are that Hoover, with its Shelby County component population, will move up during the next census period as it enters its second 50 years of existence. Mobile is more difficult to rank since it legally combined city and county government years ago. If B'ham could do the same, it would make a big difference in its population ranking.

The provencialism that drives Alabama culture is illustrated by the now 12 separate school districts in Jeffco. Which Jeffco city will be the next to set up its own schools? If you count Hoover, Shelby County has three city districts and more may be coming.

The city of Montgomery is second, not Metro Montgomery, and the city of Mobile shrunk, not metro Mobile. My point about metro areas was completely separate, and you were wrong about Mobile.

And yeah, the school district thing is dumb, but I don't know what that has to do with the population growth or shrinkage. And there are no other cities in Shelby County that are even in the neighborhood of being close enough to split. Pelham and Alabaster were it.

It is not possible for a city to become larger unless it annexes land.

(08-03-2017 05:54 PM)thebernreuter Wrote:  It is not possible for a city to become larger unless it annexes land.

The "over the mountain" cities tried to limit B'ham's growth to the south but were circumvented to some degree by the "lasso" method used along US 280 to bring The Summit and Brook Highland properties into the city. These and perhaps others are why B'ham Fire Station #32 is located there.

These OTM cities did not object to B'ham annexing Roosevelt City to the west end.

Toyota announced adding to its Huntsville engine plant by adding V6 and V8 to its present 4 cylinder plant production. This may bring in other allied companies with hundreds of additional workers.

Huntsville was the first state capitol of Alabama and has been really growing since WWII due to NASA and the Redstone Arsenal. It now has two separate state universities in its area.

and Mercedes is expanding at Vance where a lot of suppliers will land in the Birmingham metro area, including a huge Daimler logistics facility in Bibb County (which is metro Birmingham, not metro Tuscaloosa)

metro area size is the real thing to watch, not just the central city size. Huntsville could be the largest city in the state and it still won't matter because metro Birmingham is twice the size as metro Huntsville. All it means is that the counties and cities in the Birmingham area need to get off their asses and start working cooperatively and more cohesively. If they do that, they can fend off the challenge in the north.

FWIW, Birmingham also has two separate state universities (UAB and Montevallo) and 3 private universities in its area. UAB alone has more undergraduates than UAH and Alabama A&M have in total students combined.

(09-28-2017 07:17 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  and Mercedes is expanding at Vance where a lot of suppliers will land in the Birmingham metro area, including a huge Daimler logistics facility in Bibb County (which is metro Birmingham, not metro Tuscaloosa)

metro area size is the real thing to watch, not just the central city size. Huntsville could be the largest city in the state and it still won't matter because metro Birmingham is twice the size as metro Huntsville. All it means is that the counties and cities in the Birmingham area need to get off their asses and start working cooperatively and more cohesively. If they do that, they can fend off the challenge in the north.

FWIW, Birmingham also has two separate state universities (UAB and Montevallo) and 3 private universities in its area. UAB alone has more undergraduates than UAH and Alabama A&M have in total students combined.

What all this info points up is that Alabama had better hope these foreign nations don't take President Trump at his "America First" rhetoric and decide "to call these businesses home" from Alabama and other states. He told them to take care of their own just like he intended to take care of ours (one of his first actions was to force Ford to end plans to build a plant in Mexico).

(09-28-2017 12:04 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  

(09-28-2017 07:17 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  and Mercedes is expanding at Vance where a lot of suppliers will land in the Birmingham metro area, including a huge Daimler logistics facility in Bibb County (which is metro Birmingham, not metro Tuscaloosa)

metro area size is the real thing to watch, not just the central city size. Huntsville could be the largest city in the state and it still won't matter because metro Birmingham is twice the size as metro Huntsville. All it means is that the counties and cities in the Birmingham area need to get off their asses and start working cooperatively and more cohesively. If they do that, they can fend off the challenge in the north.

FWIW, Birmingham also has two separate state universities (UAB and Montevallo) and 3 private universities in its area. UAB alone has more undergraduates than UAH and Alabama A&M have in total students combined.

What all this info points up is that Alabama had better hope these foreign nations don't take President Trump at his "America First" rhetoric and decide "to call these businesses home" from Alabama and other states. He told them to take care of their own just like he intended to take care of ours (one of his first actions was to force Ford to end plans to build a plant in Mexico).

Donald Trump didn't force Ford to do anything, their factory plans were in the works before Trump was even elected. And like in America, companies headquartered in Japan or Germany or wherever don't take their marching orders from Donald Trump. Stop living in a Fox News world

In his speech before the UN, President Trump stated that he intended to put America first, and that he expected other chief executives to do the same for their nations. Alabama had better hope our auto builders won't have to take his instructions to their own governments seriously.

Ford was offered a sweetened deal of tax breaks to build that plant in Indiana where Pence was governor until he formally became VEEP. That state had lost at least one manufacturing plant in recent years so there was not much complaint about giving tax breaks to Ford.