Is Birmingham OK?

[telstarbox]

I thought this was a sobering analysis, from this Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ns-second-largest-city-reached-breaking-point

The city centre may bounce back, but the city itself will need much more than office blocks and boosterism. By every possible economic metric, Britain’s second largest city is in crisis. Its official unemployment rate is 9.8%, second only to Blackpool with 9.9%. Many more Brummies are likely to add to that tally. Birmingham has more people on furlough – 55,400 – than any other local authority in the country. Once the city of a thousand trades, manufacturing jobs have dramatically declined: one in five worked in manufacturing in 1999, but it was one in 10 by 2019. Far too few of those jobs have been replaced; and where they have, they are predominantly low-paid, low-skilled and low-security. To make matters worse, Birmingham is a young city – almost half the population is under the age of 30.

In the city centre you can see the investment in buildings and the new New Street, but clearly this only tells half the story. It feels like Greater Manchester (and the wider Liverpool - Leeds belt) get a lot more of the limelight and maybe future investment currently, with the Northern Powerhouse concept still regularly in the headlines. The coalition government also announced the 'Midlands Engine' but this seems to have gone quieter.

Any Brummies care to comment?

 

[Jack Hay]

Not a Brummie here but I'd point out that Birmingham is the largest local authority in the country - so if the proportion of people on furlough were to be the same everywhere, then Birmingham would have the most anyway.

 

[najaB]

Not a Brummie either, but this line:

To make matters worse, Birmingham is a young city – almost half the population is under the age of 30.

Sounds more like an advantage than a disadvantage, given the problems that come with an aging population.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Yes an advantage maybe, they can more easily get on their bikes to find work elsewhere if necessary
Whatabout the extensive leafy suburbs that are not part of Birmingham?

 

[birchesgreen]

Get out of the shiny city centre and into the suburbs and it is a land of ignorance and filth.

 

[Western Lord]

Birmingham's problem is that it is not far enough north to benefit from the trendy relocation of things from London.

 

[DarloRich]

Some foolish Fox news man suggested the City of Birmingham was a no-go zone for non-Muslims so best be careful

Guardian: Terrorism expert Steven Emerson claimed on US news channel Fox News that non-Muslims do not go to Birmingham, which he said had become a “totally Muslim” city

Fox News man is 'idiot' for Birmingham Muslim comments – David Cameron

‘I choked on my porridge,’ British prime minister says in response to Steven Emerson’s claim that Birmingham is a ‘totally Muslim city’

www.theguardian.com

 

[yorksrob]

They should never have demolished the old Snow Hill station

 

[Dr Hoo]

Yes an advantage maybe, they can more easily get on their bikes to find work elsewhere if necessary
Whatabout the extensive leafy suburbs that are not part of Birmingham?

Noting that Sutton Coldfield has been part of Birmingham for decades and that Solihull is definitely a distinct place, which 'suburbs' did you have in mind?

Not mentioned so far are the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in 2022, I believe.

But as someone who was born and brought up in Birmingham I can only concur with the view that its civic and industrial clout has been going downhill for at least fifty years, certainly in relative terms.

 

[Geezertronic]

Some foolish Fox news man suggested the City of Birmingham was a no-go zone for non-Muslims so best be careful

Like everywhere, there are areas where I wouldn't go of a night. I'd suggest Aston & Handsworth are more of a no-go area for anyone than somewhere like Alum Rock.

in fact I've just driven into Birmingham just now to drop my son off at college, the only thing that pees me off is the introduction of the "Clean Air" zone that will come in force next year some time

 

[al78]

Like everywhere, there are areas where I wouldn't go of a night. I'd suggest Aston & Handsworth are more of a no-go area for anyone than somewhere like Alum Rock.

in fact I've just driven into Birmingham just now to drop my son off at college, the only thing that pees me off is the introduction of the "Clean Air" zone that will come in force next year some time

Why, would you rather breathe dirty air?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I don't know if Birmingham is any better off or worse than any other major city outside of the south.

It has the usual variety of neighbourhoods with the rough inner city of Nechells or Witton, the post war estates like Chelmsley Wood, the metrosexual spots like Harborne, as well as a vibrant city centre. Also, there are plenty of areas that are really unremarkable like Marston Green or Quinton; I certainly wouldn't suggest they are a land of ignorance and filth.

Like cities such as Liverpool or Newcastle, the hospitality industry has assumed greater importance over the years and the regeneration of the city centre and Broad Street is testimony to this.

I used to dislike Birmingham; I had a few bad experiences associated with the city but I have reappraised that in recent years. It's a good city though it has it's problems. However, it's not Detroit!!

 

[Geezertronic]

Why, would you rather breathe dirty air?

Is the air dirty though or is that just a nonsense comment from you that doesn't take into consideration the impact the charge will have on many peoples lives (look I can be emotive as well...)

 

[superjohn]

Get out of the shiny city centre and into the suburbs and it is a land of ignorance and filth.

You don’t have to go far to see deprivation. Exit shiny New Street in the direction of Smallbrook Queensway/China Town and things get rapidly unpleasant. I understand there are redevelopment plans for the area but they are moving very slowly and I suspect they are on an increasingly shaky footing right now.

I was there a few weeks ago and the whole city centre seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. It felt like the eighties again in some areas.

 

[deltic]

"To make matters worse, Birmingham is a young city – almost half the population is under the age of 30"

Manchester has an even lower median age, 30 compared to 32.6 in Birmingham. Part of the reason in both cities is the very large student population. There are 25,000 more 20-24 year olds in Birmingham than 15-19 or 10-14 year olds.

 

[43096]

Get out of the shiny city centre and into the suburbs and it is a land of ignorance and filth.

A former colleague of mine was of the opinion it was three million people with the same speech impediment.

 

[Djgr]

Here is a golden rule to remember for a happy life.

Never live in a city far from the beach.

 

[Darandio]

Here is a golden rule to remember for a happy life.

Never live in a city far from the beach.

I live a mile from the beach and i'm throughly miserable.

 

[birchesgreen]

A former colleague of mine was of the opinion it was three million people with the same speech impediment.

Accent is the only good thing about Brum in moi opinion.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

There are lots of different accents between Coventry and Wolverhampton. I once met someone from Gornal in Church Stretton, an agreeable surprise

 

[DB]

Not a Brummie here but I'd point out that Birmingham is the largest local authority in the country - so if the proportion of people on furlough were to be the same everywhere, then Birmingham would have the most anyway.

The Birmingham conurbation and the Manchester conurbation are very similar sizes, but the bulk of the Birmingham one is counted as in Birmingham, whereas in Manchester it's split between Manchester and Salford.

Both of course also have areas outside the city boundaries but part of the conurbation. Really, population is best looked at by conurbation as that's the physical reality - local authority areas can be redrawn at will, and using these can be misleading, especially in cities where a lot of the urban area is outside of the boundary (Manchester, Nottingham, etc).

 

[hst43102]

Here is a golden rule to remember for a happy life.

Never live in a city far from the beach.

Residents of Jaywick in Essex might disagree. Seaside town with the highest deprivation in England.

 

[Bald Rick]

Birmingham's problem is that it is not far enough north to benefit from the trendy relocation of things from London.

Except there are some. HSBC shifting their U.K. HQ there for example. HS2 will help.

Accent is the only good thing about Brum in moi opinion.

Good grief it’s awful. Black Country accent is much better.

There are lots of different accents between Coventry and Wolverhampton. I once met someone from Gornal in Church Stretton, an agreeable surprise

There’s different accents all around the region, even within the cities. North Birmingham is different to South Birmingham, different to West Birmingham, which is different to Halesowen, then there’s Walsall, Dud-lay, north Black Country, east Wolverhampton, West Wolverhampton, and plenty more.

I still remember going to Wolverhampton after 3 months of living in Birmingham, the Wolverhampton accent was like music to my ears!

 

[SuspectUsual]

I used to work in Darlaston in the early 90s and the whole area of “W land” (Wolverhampton, Walsall, Willenhall, Wednesbury and Wednesfield) was unrelentingly grim. The office manager was a redoubtable local lady who reckoned she could locate the natives within half a mile on a map just by listening to the nuances of their accents.

She was also very gullible, and when the big Toys R Us was opened near where IKEA is now, she believed us when we told her they were bowing to local dialect and calling it Toys Am We

The odd time I’ve been back since I’ve thought it much like any other medium to large city. The city centre moves around based on which bits are being tarted up, and in Birmingham they did a decent job on Brindleyplace and Broad Street but they’re a bit detached from the New Street area.

 

[birchesgreen]

She was also very gullible, and when the big Toys R Us was opened near where IKEA is now, she believed us when we told her they were bowing to local dialect and calling it Toys Am We

There actually was a small independent called Toys Am We, i don't know if its still around though.

 

[Bald Rick]

The office manager was a redoubtable local lady who reckoned she could locate the natives within half a mile on a map just by listening to the nuances of their accents.

Yep, I have several relatives who can do that, and I’m normally accurate to within 3-4 miles.

She was also very gullible, and when the big Toys R Us was opened near where IKEA is now, she believed us when we told her they were bowing to local dialect and calling it Toys Am We

I still call it Toys Am We!

 

[Djgr]

I used to work in Darlaston in the early 90s and the whole area of “W land” (Wolverhampton, Walsall, Willenhall, Wednesbury and Wednesfield) was unrelentingly grim. The office manager was a redoubtable local lady who reckoned she could locate the natives within half a mile on a map just by listening to the nuances of their accents.

She was also very gullible, and when the big Toys R Us was opened near where IKEA is now, she believed us when we told her they were bowing to local dialect and calling it Toys Am We

The odd time I’ve been back since I’ve thought it much like any other medium to large city. The city centre moves around based on which bits are being tarted up, and in Birmingham they did a decent job on Brindleyplace and Broad Street but they’re a bit detached from the New Street area.

Does it feel like the Second City though?

To be honest I think Birmingham underperforms and underdelivers.

 

[DB]

Does it feel like the Second City though?

To be honest I think Birmingham underperforms and underdelivers.

Manchester could equally make a claim to be the second city these days.

 

[najaB]

Manchester could equally make a claim to be the second city these days.

Can and does!

 

[telstarbox]

I wondered when this would come up The way I see it, Birmingham and Manchester are both the natural 'capitals' of their conurbations, but Manchester has a sphere of influence beyond its urban area (towards Liverpool, Stoke, the Lancashire towns) in a different way to Birmingham. They both have an airport, motorways, major railway stations etc but Manchester is maybe a bigger city in terms of culture/media/sport?