Design Review Committee disapproves replacement "Sign"
Preserve Jazz Festival announces sabbatical for 2015
As I looked at the story that ran on the Birmingham News’ site on Saturday about Mayor Langford wanting to bid for the 2020 Olympics and saw the reaction of readers, a few things ran through my mind.
I found it funny that people will say that all outsiders know about Birmingham is what happened during the Civil Rights movement, yet “no one’s even heard of Birmingham” whenever we want to think big. I also find it funny that people think that downtown is so dangerous. My current plans to move have nothing to do with safety – it’s more to do with the costs. It is probably one of the safer downtown areas I’ve ever lived in. Finally, (at least to me) it’s not about actually getting the Games – though that’s the ultimate goal – it’s about knowing that you could be an Olympic minded city.
I also stumbled across this post over on Daily Dixie late last night. While some of the things in the list are true, maybe having a goal as unattainable as hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics could start to move us in the direction we want to go in. It would also force us to begin to look at taking ownership of some of the bigger issues in our community ourselves as citizens, an idea whose time I believe has finally come in The Magic City. Why sit back and wait for someone else to do something when you can take initiative yourself?
I’m not saying that I think we have a chance at all to get the Games at all. I think besides the arbitrary reasons people will want to give, I’d point to the International Olympic Committee‘s historic precedent (and dislike) of not having cities so close to each other hosting games so soon after one another, even with the 24 years that will have elapsed between the Centennial games of Atlanta and our elected leader’s goal. Our chances will also hinge on whether Chicago is successful in its current bid to host the Games in 2016 – if they are, it would further hurt our chances. There’s also the quality of the 27 other cities that are hoping for the nod when the lucky city is announced sometime in 2013. While I won’t be as caustic as Scarbinsky was, there are other numbers that don’t necessarily say “over here, over here!”.
This is one time though where I think many of us pundits would love to be proven wrong. A familiar quote has resurfaced during my research and founding UAB President Volker’s comments have never echoed in my mind as much as they do now. We must dream big dreams for the city and the region, but our leaders must realize that they must work together to solve the issues of the day. Compromise and partnerships are two things that, while becoming more prevalent in recent conversations, still seem to elude us when they matter most. The thing is, attempting to win the right to host a Summer Olympics would force the city of Birmingham and its leadership, elected and otherwise, to take a good hard look at the issues that face the city and the region and have significant progress made by a clear and absolute deadline.
The year 2020 has always appeared to be an important one to our area’s community leaders. Several organizations, most notably Region 2020, have chosen the arbitrary date as a deadline for when things need to be accomplished. Mayor Langford’s proclamation while in attendance at the Alabama Sports Festival may have been “classic” Larry, however those around him will realize quickly that many of his ideas, if linked together under this umbrella, may actually get some traction, whether it’s a dome, new housing, new businesses, better transit, etc. So long as the improvements made to the city are done for the good of its citizens and not to be “as good as” any other large Southern metropolitan city, it could be the goal that finally makes us work for it. It also provides something for us to hold him accountable to and a bar to reach for when 2020 finally descends upon us.
If you use Chicago’s current bid for the 2016 Summer Games as an example, many of the infrastructure improvements that would need to be made would have to see significant progress by 2012, giving Langford until the end of his current term to leave what would be an indelible mark indeed. Even if we were unsuccessful, it would be a feather in his cap to see just what could be accomplished for our citizens in order to try to even compete, especially after reviewing the 257-page application completed for consideration to host the 2016 Games. It could also be a great way to measure his success and determine if he deserves another term in office.
André Natta is the managing editor of The Terminal.
Maybe Larry was on to something…
Whenever someone brings up Langford’s name, there’s normally some snickering about several of his proposals and their effects on the city and surrounding community. There is none that draws giggling and snark quicker than his attempt to bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
If you approach it on face value, it didn’t make sense at all – at least it shouldn’t have. When it was presented in 2008, I suggested folks consider looking at it as a blueprint to measure his effectiveness as mayor. I got comments and emails from visitors to the site suggesting it was a noble interpretation, but the idea was still unrealistic.
I’ve left the notion alone now for the last 4+ years, thinking I may have missed something. Then, as I sat at my desk towards the end of last year, starting to shift my thoughts towards the city’s efforts to recognize what happened in 1963, it hit me. I’d found a new way to look at Langford’s proposals – one many wouldn’t want to acknowledge or admit to even if pressed. It was still compelling.
Langford’s proposals were his way of trying to get the city ready for 2013… and 2021.
Another look at Langford’s list of ideas
There is an entry dedicated to the list of initiatives proposed by Larry Langford throughout his political career maintained over on Bhamwiki. The collections of suggestions made during his time as mayor is extensive (and exhausting for some), but reviewed through the lens of getting a city ready for its international close-up, it is impressive.
Some, like the proposal to demolish the Birmingham Board of Education headquarters across from Linn Park to allow for redevelopment, sounded crazy, but now it appears as though it’ll happen now. Others, like suggesting we build fountains and plazas in Pratt City, Five Points West and downtown, seemed too far out there.
Now we get to the 2020 Olympics bid.
No, I’m not saying we had a chance, but it goes back to my original point from the June 2008 piece – it was a goal to place in front of the city. It was the ultimate target. It intrigued me as the math began to make sense. The proposal would have to go in during 2008, getting us media attention (which it did). There would have to be significant progress made on the infrastructure by late 2012/early 2013 at the latest, regardless of the situation in which Langford found himself. This would mean the city would be “ready” by 2013 – the moment Birmingham would once again be in the international spotlight for not just one, but two reasons.
It would provide a different angle for visiting journalists and bloggers to take on the city; it becomes less an issue of what we’re commemorating and more of where we are and where the city is going. It would also provide some buzz on which you could build on and realize several significant changes to the city for 2020, when journalists would undoubtedly come back to see if we’d taken advantage of those necessary improvements.
By the way, those improvements would have us ready for the following year, 2021. The significance of that year? It’s the 150th anniversary of the founding of Birmingham, AL.
I’m not asking you to anoint Langford a saint. I’m trying to demonstrate the madness had a method, albeit a haphazard one. It led to several of the things we’ll be celebrating and recognizing this year:
He asked us to do something, even though we didn’t necessarily want to play along. He will go down as a polarizing figure in Birmingham history, but he’ll also have a place in the hearts of some who’ve started to connect the insanity of the dots – as insane as they may be.
He even ended up scoring one of those proposed fountains downtown – over at our new Uptown entertainment district. The first groundbreaking – yeah, he was there, too.
André Natta is the stationmaster for bhamterminal.com.
3 Comments
Posted in Commentary, leadership
Tagged 1963, 2013, 2020 Olympics, Larry Langford, optimism