When I was walking in *insert city name here*...

Birmingham is getting an entertainment district. It is going to be called 'The Forge' and the "name speaks to Birmingham’s past as an iron and steelmaking town and symbolizes the sparks of excitement the hotspots at The Forge will generate".

Does anyone else find this odd?

It is being developed by the same firm who developed Beale Street in Memphis and from what I read and the lectures I have heard from the developer, The Forge is being billed as a Beale Street for Birmingham.

It seems odd to me that the same developer that stated how they chose the name to reflect Birmingham unique history and character would then go and stamp out a Beale Street on the grid of Birmingham. Are we that near sighted?

Birmingham is wrought with problems, real problems, problems that have complex solutions that require sacrifice and selflessness and dedication. But what do we do? We erect a monument to 'free time' and 'disposable income' and call it a successful downtown. We build a monument and an anachronism at the same time. We deem the rest of the city a failure and not worthy and in turn build a plastique homage.

So take comfort that when you come to Birmingham you can go to a street downtown and participate in a historical re-enactment of how cities used to work and walk on a 'real' side walk and look into windows and 'bump' into a neighbor.

But I wouldn't wonder too far off that axis...