Why is downtown Birmingham underdeveloped while the outskirts of the city are flourishing?

Answer 1

Crime and economics. Like any town, Birmingham has a life cycle. Things start out in the center of a small town with housing and shops. As people become more affluent and they want to get away from the crowded inner city, they move to the suburbs and the shopping malls soon follow. Since the people with the money are no longer shopping downtown, the inner city shops start folding up. As there are fewer jobs and the opportunities, the crime rates increase which push more people to the edges of the city. Soon there is no one in the inner city after dark.

Cities will cycle back to the inner city as the delapidated building are bought and converted to loft apartments, etc. for the young couples (usually young professionals without children so schools are not an issue) and boutique shops follow. As people with money move back to the inner cities, the city gets a facelift and more people move back to the inner city. They will do most of their shopping via the internet, so soon malls are only visited by the old folks and unemployed youth on the edges of the city where crime has now moved forcing people either much further out into the country or back to the inner city.

As the Young Profs start having children, they will start insisting on either better public schools in the inner city or more likely send their kids to private schools.

And the cycle begins again....

Answer 2

It's pretty much the case with almost any mid-sized American city.

Birmingham thrived up until the 60s, and even through the Civil Rights era.

However, the reason the entire downtown area depopulated had to do with court-ordered busing of students to achieve racial balance in school. It was a well-intentioned idea that was a horrible idea in practice. Essentially, parents were expected to shove their 7- and 8- year olds on a bus every morning for a ten-mile ride to school just to fulfill somebody's abstract notion of what would create racial harmony.

Because nobody wanted their kids to be the equivalent of guinea pigs, lots of middle-class and working class whites vamooosed to places such as Hoover or Hueytown. This in turn led to the steady downward spiral of school quality, causing a self-perpetuating cycle even today. And once people were living out in the suburbs, the drive to work and shop downtown was too far, leading to the decimation of downtown business.

The irony of it all is that if you look at communities such as Hoover, you find racially integrated schools with high educational standards. That's what happens when social changes are allowed to naturally take their course, not be forced by court order.

However, downtown Birmingham is actually showing signs of life, far more than 20 years ago. Lots of lofts and restaurants are showing back up downtown, a trend that seems to be continuing.

Answer 3

It's called urban decay.
As people move to the, stores including malls and box stores
with their acres of parking make downtown into a no man's land of sorts.
Toronto has a thriving downtown. Mind you, it has a very good subway to get you there. There are many high-rises and even regular houses in the hub of Toronto, and the major galleries and museums are there.

Answer 4

? To which Birmingham are you referring?

The one in Alabama, the one in Michigan, the one in England?

Answer 5

because its birmingham.