Monday, August 4, 2008

Birmin'ham Birmin'ham greatest city in Alabam'


Because apparently some people don't know:

Yes, Birmingham, AL is a major metropolitan area.

Most people do not live inside the city-limits and therefore Birmingham's actual population is about 220,000. If you expand to what is known as Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, which includes the Over-the-Mountain areas, Hoover, and probably the Trussville area, Birmingham's population is estimated to be over 1.1 million people. If you go even further to include Greater Birmingham (or Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman combined statistical area) the population soars to include roughly 1/4 of Alabama's population!

According to a recent survey Greater Birmingham has more roadways than most other U.S. metropolitan areas, with the center being located at the convergence of 4 interstate highways (I-65, I-20, I-59, and I-459. I-22, known as "Corridor X" is currently under construction. There are also 2 U.S. Highways that run through the area Hwy 31 and Hwy 280.

Greater Birmingham is home to the largest and most affluent shopping centers and malls in Alabama. Many of the retailers have their exclusive Alabama location in the area. Major shopping centers include Riverchase Galleria, which, when built, was the largest mixed use project in the Southeastern United States and also has the world's longest skylight. The Summit is the largest open-air lifestyle center in the U.S. It is home to Alabama's only Saks and Belk's flagship store. Brookwood Village was one of the first shopping centers build outside of Birmingham proper. It has recently been renovated so that it would have a main-street appeal to its facade.

Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and is also one of the largest banking centers in the U.S. In addition, the Birmingham area serves as headquarters to one Fortune 500 company: Regions Financial. Five Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in Birmingham.

I hope this helped to educate some of you who think that even Birmingham is small, rural, or po-dunk just because it is in Alabama.

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

well this is interesting information. Birmingham misses you.