Birmingham (bmhm) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Jefferson County. Portions of the city are also located in Shelby County. It was founded in 1871, after the U. S. Civil War, as an industrial enterprise. It was named after Birmingham, the major industrial city of England.
Through the middle of the 20th century, Birmingham was the primary industrial center of the Southern United States. The astonishing pace of Birmingham's growth through the turn of the century, earned it the nicknames "The Magic City" and "The Pittsburgh of the South". Birmingham's major industries centered around iron and steel production. Over the course of the 20th century, while industry declined nationwide, the city's economy diversified. Though manufacturing is still a strong sector, Birmingham has also become a major medical research center and a regional banking and publishing power.
Home to a significant but rigorously segregated African American middle class, Birmingham was one of the battlegrounds of the American Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960s. Race relations remain a central issue in Birmingham.
The population of the city proper is 242,820 (2000 U.S. census), and declined to 236,620 according to the 2003 estimate. However, it serves as the primary nucleus for a sprawling urbanization known as Greater Birmingham with 1,052,238 inhabitants. In recent years Birmingham has been named by various groups as one of the best U.S. cities in which to live.
Birmingham is located at 33°31'29" North, 86°48'46" West (33.524755, -86.812740).
Birmingham occupies Jones Valley, flanked by long parallel mountain ridges (the tailing ends of the Appalachian foothills) running from north-east to south-west. The valley is drained by small creeks (Village Creek, Valley Creek) which flow into the Black Warrior River. More importantly, the valley was bisected by the principal railroad corridor, along which most of the early manufacturing operations began.
Red Mountain lies immediately south of downtown. Birmingham's television and radio broadcast towers are lined up along this prominent ridge. The "Over the Mountain" area, including Shades Valley, Shades Mountain and beyond, was largely shielded from the industrial smoke and rough streets of the industrial city. This is the setting for Birmingham's more affluent suburbs of Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, and Hoover. South of Shades Valley is the Cahaba River basin.
Sand Mountain, a smaller ridge, flanks the city to the north and divides Jones Valley from much more rugged land to the north. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad (now CSX Transportation) enters the valley through Boyles Gap, a prominent gap in the long low ridge.
Ruffner Mountain, located due east of the heart of the city, is home to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, one of the largest urban nature reserves in the United States.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 393.5 km2 (151.9 mi2). 388.3 km2 (149.9 mi2) of it is land and 5.3 km2 (2.0 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 1.34% water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 242,820 people, 98,782 households, and 59,269 families residing in the city. The population density is 625.4/km2 (1,619.7/mi2). There are 111,927 housing units at an average density of 288.3/km2 (746.6/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 24.07% White, 73.46% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.62% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. 1.55% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 98,782 households out of which 27.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% are married couples living together, 24.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% are non-families. 34.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 3.09.
In the city, the population is spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 80.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $26,735, and the median income for a family is $31,851. Males have a median income of $28,184 versus $23,641 for females. The city's per capita income is $15,663. 24.7% of the population and 20.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 35.4% of those under the age of 18 and 18.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Average rents in Birmingham in 2005 were $590 for a one bedroom apartment, and $729 for a two bedroom apartment. Birmingham
In the 1970s and 1980s, Birmingham's economy was transformed with investments in bio-technology and medical research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and its adjacent hospital. The UAB Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in the entire 4-state area providing healthcare and breakthrough medical research. UAB is now the area's largest employer and the largest in Alabama with a workforce of about 20,000. Birmingham is also a leading banking center, serving as home to three major banking companies: AmSouth Bancorporation, Compass Bancshares and Regions Bank. SouthTrust, which also had been headquartered in Birmingham, was acquired by Wachovia in 2004. Telecommunications provider BellSouth has a major presence with several large offices in the metropolitan area. The city is also a powerhouse of construction and engineering companies. It started with Rust Engineering International and has grown to many other construction and engineering companies such as BE&K, Brasfield & Gorrie, BL Harbert International, and Dunn Construction, all of which are in the top engineering and construction companies in the world.
A 2006 Study by Bizjournals.com calculated Birmingham's "combined personal income" (the sum of all money earned by all residents of an area in a year) at $48.1 Billion. The purpose of their study was to determine which cities, based on combined personal income, would be financially able to support professional sport franchises. Birmingham was one of 30 unserved markets deemed capable of supporting a National Football League team, one of 23 capable of supporting a National Hockey League team, and one of 19 capable of supporting a National Basketball Association team. According to the study, no unserved markets have the income needed to support a new Major League Baseball team.
Birmingham was founded on June 1, 1871 by real estate promoters who sold lots near the planned crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North railroads. The site of the railroad crossing was notable for the nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone - the three principal raw materials used in making steel. Birmingham is one of the very few places worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity. From the start the new city was planned as a great center of industry. The founders borrowed the name of Birmingham, England's principal industrial city, to advertise that point. Birmingham got off to a slow start: the city was impeded by an outbreak of cholera and a Wall Street crash in 1873. But soon afterward the city began growing rapidly.
In the 1950s and '60s Birmingham received national and international attention as a center of the civil rights struggle for African-Americans. A watershed in that movement occurred in 1963 when Martin Luther King, Jr., imprisoned for having taken part in a nonviolent protest, wrote the now famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, a defining treatise in his cause against segregation. Birmingham is best known, however, for a bombing which occurred later that year. Four black girls were killed by a bomb planted at the 16th Street Baptist Church. Although Birmingham was never home to large scale racial violence (Mass racial violence in the United States) such as has occurred in other cities as recently as 1992, common modern knowledge of the city is dominated by the 1963 bombing.
Following the same pattern as many other American cities, the population inside Birmingham's city limits has fallen over the past few decades. From 340,887 in 1960, the population was down to 242,820 in 2000, a loss of about 29 percent. However, the growth of Birmingham's suburbs over that same period has kept the metropolitan population growing.
In 1971 Birmingham celebrated its centennial with a round of public works improvements, including the upgrading of Vulcan Park.
In 1979 Birmingham elected Dr. Richard Arrington Jr. as its first African-American mayor.
In 1996 Birmingham's Legion Field hosted early rounds of Olympic soccer.
Over the course of the 20th century, while industry declined nationwide, the city's economy successfully diversified. Though manufacturing is still a strong sector, Birmingham also is a major medical research center and a regional banking and publishing power.
Source:
Birmingham-USA.com
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