Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: Population shifts and political power

  The 2010 census data paints an interesting landscape of Alabama’s demographics. There are dramatic shifts but the results are not surprising. We have been told and have seen these obvious trends develop over the past decade. However, it is only when the actual final figures are told and you see the present picture of our population that the conclusive scenario hits home.

  For the first time we are an urban rather than a rural state. Approximately one half of our population lives in one of our four metropolitan areas. The largest of the metro areas is the Birmingham-Hoover area, which includes the seven counties of Jefferson, Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Walker, St. Clair and Shelby. The Huntsville and Madison-Limestone area is now the second largest metro area followed by Mobile and then the four county Montgomery metropolitan area. Approximately 51% of our people live in these four major metro areas all along the I-65 corridor.