Birmingham

Birmingham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the city in England. For the U.S. city named after it, see Birmingham, Alabama. For other uses, see Birmingham (disambiguation).

Birmingham

—  City and Metropolitan borough  —

From top left: Birmingham City Centre from the west; Selfridges in the Bull Ring; Birmingham Town Hall; St Philip's Cathedral; the University of Birmingham; Alpha Tower.

Coat of Arms of the City Council

Nickname(s): "Brum", "Brummagem", "The Second City", "City of a thousand trades", "Workshop of the World”

Motto: Forward

Birmingham shown within England and the West Midlands

Coordinates: 52°28′59″N 1°53′37″W

Sovereign state         United Kingdom

Constituent country England

Region            West Midlands

Ceremonial county   West Midlands

Admin HQ      The Council House

Founded         7th century

Municipal borough   1838

City     1889

Government

 - Type            Metropolitan borough

 - Body            Birmingham City Council

 - Lord Mayor Len Gregory

 - Council Leader       Mike Whitby (C)

 - Council Control      Conservative / Liberal Democrat Coalition

 - MPs Richard Burden (L)

Liam Byrne (L)

Jack Dromey (L)

Roger Godsiff (L)

John Hemming (LD)

Khalid Mahmood (L)

Shabana Mahmood (L)

Steve McCabe (L)

Andrew Mitchell (C)

Gisela Stuart (L)

Area

 - Total            103.4 sq mi (267.77 km2)

Elevation        459 ft (140 m)

Population (2008 est.)

 - Total            1,016,800 (Ranked 1st)

 - Density       9,684/sq mi (3,739/km2)

 - Conurbation           2,284,093

 - Ethnicity

(2007 estimates[1]) 66.7% White (62.1% White British)

21.0% South Asian

6.7% Black

3.2% Mixed Race

1.2% Chinese

1.2% Other

Time zone      Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)

 - Summer (DST)        British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Postcode        B

Area code(s)  0121

ISO 3166 code          GB-BIR

ONS code       00CN

OS grid reference     SP066868

NUTS 3           UKG31

Website         birmingham.gov.uk

Birmingham (i /ˈbɜrmɪŋəm/ bur-ming-əm, locally /ˈbɜːmɪŋɡəm/ bur-ming-gəm[citation needed]) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. It is the most populous British city outside London, with a population of 1,028,701 (2009 estimate),[2] and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the United Kingdom's second most populous urban area with a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census).[3] Birmingham's metropolitan area, which includes surrounding towns to which it is closely tied through commuting, is also the United Kingdom's second most populous with a population of 3,683,000.[4]

A medium-sized market town throughout the medieval period, Birmingham grew to international prominence in the 18th century at the heart of the Midlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw the town at the forefront of worldwide developments in science, technology and industrial organisation, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society.[5] By 1791 it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world".[6] Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly-skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation, and provided a diverse and resilient economic base for an industrial prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century.[7] Its resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of broad-based political radicalism, that under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London, and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy.[8]

Today Birmingham is a major international commercial centre, ranked as a gamma−world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network;[9] and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. With a city GDP of $90bn (2008 estimate, PPP), its urban economy is the second largest in the UK and the 72nd largest in the world.[10] Birmingham's three universities and two university colleges make it the largest centre of higher education in the United Kingdom outside London,[11] and its major cultural institutions, including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, enjoy international reputations.[12]

People from Birmingham are known as 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of 'Brum'. This may originate from the city's dialect name, Brummagem,[13] which may in turn have been derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'.[14] There is a distinctive Brummie dialect and accent, both of which differ from the adjacent Black Country.

Contents [hide]

1 History

2 Government

3 Geography

3.1 Geology

3.2 Climate

3.3 Environment

4 Demography

5 Economy

6 Culture

6.1 Music

6.2 Theatre and performing arts

6.3 Literature

6.4 Art and design

6.5 Museums and galleries

6.6 Nightlife and festivals

7 Architecture

8 Transport

9 Education

10 Religion

11 Sport

12 Food & drink

13 Media

14 Science and invention

15 Twin cities

16 See also

17 References

17.1 Bibliography

17.2 Notes

18 External links

[edit]History

Main articles: History of Birmingham, Economic history of Birmingham, and Timeline of Birmingham history

Some of the earliest evidence of settlement in Birmingham are artefacts dating back 10,400 years discovered near Curzon Street in the city centre.[15]

In the early 7th century,[16] Birmingham was an Anglo-Saxon farming hamlet on the banks of the River Rea.[17] It is commonly believed that the name 'Birmingham' comes from "Beorma inga ham", meaning farmstead of the sons (or descendants) of Beorma.[17] Birmingham was first recorded in written documents by the Domesday Book of 1086 as a small village, worth only 20 shillings.[17] There were many variations on this name. Brummagem and Bermingeham are other versions.

William Westley's 1731 map of Birmingham. The top of the map is oriented westwards.

In 1166 the holder of the manor of Birmingham, Peter de Birmingham, was granted a royal charter to hold a market in his castle,[15][18] which in time became known as the Bull Ring, transforming Birmingham from a village to a market town. The de Birmingham family continued to be Lords of Birmingham until the 1530s when Edward de Birmingham was cheated out of its lordship by John Dudley.[19]

As early as the 16th century, Birmingham's access to supplies of iron ore and coal meant that metalworking industries became established.[20] By the time of the English Civil War in the 17th century, Birmingham had become an important manufacturing town with a reputation for producing small arms. Arms manufacture in Birmingham became a staple trade and was concentrated in the area known as the Gun Quarter. During the Industrial Revolution (from the mid-18th century onwards), Birmingham grew rapidly into a major industrial centre and the town prospered. Birmingham’s population grew from 15,000 in the late 17th century to 70,000 a century later.[21] During the 18th century, Birmingham was home to the Lunar Society, an important gathering of local thinkers and industrialists.[22]

Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early nineteenth century, with Thomas Attwood's Birmingham Political Union bringing the country to the brink of civil war and back during the Days of May that preceded the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832.[23] The Union's meetings on Newhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen.[24] Lord Durham, who drafted the act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution".[25]

By the 1820s, an extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources to fuel to industries. Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837 with the arrival of the Grand Junction Railway, and a year later, the London and Birmingham Railway. During the Victorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million[26] and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria.[27] Joseph Chamberlain, who was once mayor of Birmingham and later became an MP, and his son Neville Chamberlain, who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of the most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established its own university in 1900.[28]

Birmingham in 1886

Birmingham suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II's "Birmingham Blitz", and the city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s.[29] This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale. The Bull Ring was reconstructed and New Street station was redeveloped.

Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s,[30] with household incomes exceeding even those of London and the South East,[31] but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II as Central Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Scotland, Wales and Northern England.[32] These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm",[33] and the city became increasingly dependent on the motor industry. The recession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment and outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts.[34]

In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from the Commonwealth of Nations and beyond.[35] The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents.[26]

In recent years, Birmingham has been transformed, with the construction of new squares like Centenary Square and Millennium Place. Old streets, buildings and canals have been restored, the pedestrian subways have been removed, and the Bull Ring shopping centre[36] has been completely redeveloped. These were the first steps in the ambitious plans of Birmingham City Council for the redevelopment of Birmingham, which has become known as the Big City Plan.[37]

[edit]Government

Main article: Government of Birmingham

The Council House, headquarters of Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in the UK and the largest council in Europe[38] with 120 councillors representing 40 wards.[39] Its headquarters are at the Council House in Victoria Square. No single party is in overall control and the council is run by a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition led by Mike Whitby.

The city is also the seat of regional government for the West Midlands region of England as the home of the region's Government Office,[40] the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands,[41] and the West Midlands Regional Assembly.[42]

Birmingham's ten parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons by one Conservative, one Liberal Democrat and eight Labour MPs.[43] In the European Parliament the city forms part of the West Midlands European Parliament constituency, which elects six Members of the European Parliament.[41]

Birmingham was originally part of Warwickshire, but expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to the north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974 and became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands county. Up until 1986, the West Midlands County Council was based in Birmingham City Centre.

Law enforcement in Birmingham is carried out by West Midlands Police, whose headquarters are at Lloyd House in Birmingham City Centre. With 87.92 recorded offences per 1000 population in 2009-10, Birmingham's crime rate is above the average for England and Wales, but lower than any of England's other major core cities, and lower than many smaller cities such as Reading, Oxford, Cambridge or Brighton.[44] Fire and rescue services in Birmingham are provided by West Midlands Fire Service and emergency medical care by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

[edit]Geography

See also Constituent areas of Birmingham

Birmingham is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England on the Birmingham Plateau – an area of relatively high ground, ranging around 500 to 1,000 feet (150–300 m) above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north-south watershed between the basins of the Rivers Severn and Trent. To the south west of the city lie the Lickey Hills,[45] Clent Hills and Walton Hill, which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over the city.

The City of Birmingham forms a conurbation with the largely residential borough of Solihull to the south east, and with the city of Wolverhampton and the industrial towns of the Black Country to the north west. Together these make up the West Midlands Urban Area, which covers 59,972 ha (600 km2; 232 sq mi) and has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 Census).[3] Beyond the urban area, Birmingham's metropolitan area – the surrounding area to which it is closely economically tied through commuting – has a population of 3,683,000 (2001 Census) and includes the former Mercian capital of Tamworth and the cathedral city of Lichfield in Staffordshire to the north; the industrial city of Coventry and the Warwickshire towns of Nuneaton, Warwick and Leamington Spa to the east; and the Worcestershire towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove to the south west.[4]

Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden, whose former presence can still be felt in the city's dense oak tree-cover and in the large number of districts such as Moseley, Saltley, Yardley, Stirchley and Hockley with names ending in "-ley": the Old English -lēah meaning "woodland clearing".[46]

View across the city from the Lickey Hills, with Longbridge in the foreground.

[edit]Geology

Geologically, Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through Edgbaston, the Bull Ring to Erdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east.[47] To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Mercia Mudstone Group (formerly known as Keuper Marl), interspersed with beds of Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of the Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole along with their tributaries.[48] Much of this would have been laid down during the Permian and Triassic periods.[47] To the north and west of the fault, varying from 150 to 600 feet (45–180 m) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder Keuper Sandstone.[49][50]

[edit]Climate

The climate in Birmingham is classified as a temperate maritime climate, like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 20 °C (68 °F); and in winter (January) is around 4.5 °C (40.1 °F). Extreme weather is rare but the city has been known to experience tornados – the most recent being in July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area.[51]

Occasional summer heatwaves, such as the one experienced in July 2006 have become more common in recent years, and winters had become milder since the 1990s with snow becoming much less frequent, although this seems to have been reversed in the last couple of years with the winter of 2009-10 being the coldest for some 30 years. Similar to most other large cities, Birmingham has a considerable 'urban heat island' effect.[52] During the coldest night recorded in Birmingham (14 January 1982), for example, the temperature fell to −20.8 °C (−5.4 °F) at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, but just −12.9 °C (9 °F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre.[53] Relative to other large UK conurbations, Birmingham is a snowy city, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation.[53] Snow showers often pass through the city via the Cheshire gap on North Westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North Sea from North Easterly airstreams.[53]