Design Review Committee disapproves replacement "Sign"
Preserve Jazz Festival announces sabbatical for 2015
It’s been a topic on my mind for several weeks now, especially while I was out of town.
I’d actually known about the existence of the CVB’s new “IN” Birmingham campaign for some time and thought that it was a really cool concept. The idea of getting people to be proud of their community and what they have in their community is paramount to bringing an area back based on personal experiences. Apparently, I’m not alone in having those thoughts.
While I am aware that some may not necessarily agree with that last statement, I’ll see if you’ll agree that other things always stands out. Personality and individuality. Both of those things are extremely important as it lets you know. I grew up in a town where the mayor has always been a personality that embodies the city. While living in Savannah I can tell you that the stories found in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil were not nearly as good as the ones I got to hear from the individuals that made the city and my experience what it was.
We have many of those kinds of individuals and stories tucked away here in Birmingham. Some are already recognized both regionally and nationally for what they’ve contributed. There are many however that have not had a spotlight focused on them, or at least not one bright enough for more people to know about them and there are many of us that are not aware of anyone from either set.
So we’re going to look to an old slogan for the city for some inspiration for a new series of submissions about The Magic City. The 1961 “It’s Nice to Have You in Birmingham” campaign is one that still rings in the ears of residents in the region both young and old. We’d like for you to take a new look at that statement – to really think about who you like to see every day in Birmingham and why. We’re hoping that it will help us develop a mosaic of careers, backgrounds, personalities and missions that best exemplify the best thing about Birmingham – its people.
I’m asking you to let us know who you’re happy to see in Birmingham – hopefully by writing a piece for publication on this site. Think of it as NPR’s “This I Believe” series only Birmingham-centric! We’ll even record you reading your submission or perhaps do a quick audio interview with the person that you nominate to be featured. We want to make this into a continuing campaign on The Terminal, for the people are the city.
Let’s show them just who they are.
If you’re interested in submitting a nomination/entry to this series, please send in your comments to info@bhamterminal.com. If you really want to be one of the first ones, send in your responses by close of business next Friday, February 29. You can also reach us using any of the methods listed on our contact page.
A new sense of community, shown through XOs
The first part of a series of posts about solutions outside of The Magic City shows that Mayor Langford’s vision for a wireless Birmingham is not that far off base. The main issue may be the fact that few are really looking at just how much of that solution may already exist.
There are approximately 83 free wireless hotspots in Birmingham, AL proper according to AnchorFree, a website that maintains lists for cities across the country. There are 58 hotspots listed in Washington, DC on the website. Take a closer look in the metro area, and the number jumps significantly, courtesy of this list maintained by IPSA and TechBirmingham. As we prepare to introduce 15,000 laptops into the daily local lives of Birmingham’s youth, we made need to reexamine just what we really need to be doing to embrace wireless technology.
Perhaps the main issue involves expanding where the hotspots are, as well as providing more information about what it actually means to have that access. It will do no good to claim that the access points are not where they’re needed. We simply need to find more ways to provide that service there. Providing access in area churches is a start, perhaps with the hope that it will encourage families in our community to take advantage of the service at home if possible. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. If we are going to provide that edge to our youth that this program is supposed to provide in terms of the digital divide, we will have to drastically expand just what it means to be wireless.
We don’t have to go as far as Philadelphia did with their attempt at a citywide wireless cloud, but we need to at least be leaning in that general direction. We need to not be ashamed to provide the service in areas that may not think it’s that cool to do so. As many of us have said before, maybe changing how we think about us can change how others view us. Let’s expand Internet access in several area parks and encouraging more access in some of our restaurants that may not currently see it as something that they need to offer. Encouraging students to frequent their libraries, where access is already available, may also be quite useful in this instance.
Something I discovered during the trip (and on other trips around the country in the last year) was just how much a WiFi hotspot encourages community (at least among those that need their access). It is still too early in the history of this site to rely on a built in mobile broadband card, though if we keep it up, it will become necessary. Even if that’s the case, it still means something to work in a space with others, allowing you to learn more about wherever you are. One of the biggest concerns surrounding our continuing reliance on the Internet is how much we may not talk with others. It’s becoming less and less of a realistic argument. WiFi access can, many times, open those lines of communication.
We all look towards creating a greater sense of community and opportunity in The Magic City. It may be time to also stop looking to tired excuses as to why we don’t move forward. That said, we must also always take a look at all sides of an issue before jumping in with both feet. The long term benefit to the city in terms of how productive we are and what it means to companies looking to move here is too important to not look at a holistic approach to the divide.
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Posted in education
Tagged Alabama, Birmingham, Commentary, community, hotspots, WiFi access, XO, XO laptop