Birmingham

Birmingham
Birmingham
City and metropolitan borough
	Clockwise, from top: the city centre from the south, Birmingham Town Hall, St Martin's church and the Selfridges Building in the Bull Ring, the University of Birmingham, St Philip's Cathedral, and the Library of Birmingham
	Flag Coat of arms
	Etymology: Old English Beormingahām (home or settlement of the Beormingas)
	Nicknames: Brum; Brummagem; Second City; City Of A Thousand Trades; Workshop of the World; Venice Of The North; The UK’s ❤️ City;
	Motto: Forward
	Birmingham shown in the West Midlands county
	Birmingham Location in England Birmingham Location in the United Kingdom Birmingham Location in Europe
	Coordinates: 52°28′59″N 1°53′37″W / 52.48306°N 1.89361°W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	West Midlands
Ceremonial county	West Midlands
Historic county	Warwickshire
Settlement	c. 600
Seigneurial borough	1166
Municipal borough	1838
City status	14 January 1889
Metropolitan borough	1 April 1974
Administrative HQ	The Council House,; Victoria Square
Government
• Type	Metropolitan borough
• Body	Birmingham City Council
• Leadership	Leader and cabinet
• Executive
• Leader	Vacant (Deputy Leader Ian Ward, acting)
• Lord Mayor	Anne Underwood
• Chief Executive (Interim)	Stella Manzie CBE
Area
• City	103.4 sq mi (267.8 km2)
• Urban	231.2 sq mi (598.9 km2)
• Rank	151st
Elevation	460 ft (140 m)
Population (2005 est.)
• City	1,124,600
• Rank	1st
• Density	10,880/sq mi (4,199/km2)
• Urban	2,440,986 (3rd)
• Metro	4,332,629 (List of metropolitan areas in Europe)
Demonym	Brummie
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode	B
Area code	0121
ISO 3166 code	GB-BIR
GSS code	E08000025
NUTS 3 code	UKG31
ONS code	00CN
OS grid reference	SP066868
Motorways	M6; M6 Toll; M5; M42; A38(M)
Ethnicity; (2011 Census)	57.9% White (53.1% White British); 26.6% Asian; 8.9% Black; 4.4% Mixed Race; 2.0% Other;
International airports	Birmingham (BHX)
Major railway stations	Birmingham New Street (A); Birmingham Moor Street (B); Birmingham Snow Hill (C1)
GDP	US$ 121.1 billion (2nd)
– Per capita	US$ 31,572
Councillors	120
MPs	List Richard Burden (L); Liam Byrne (L); Jack Dromey (L); Roger Godsiff (L); Khalid Mahmood (L); Shabana Mahmood (L); Steve McCabe (L); Andrew Mitchell (C); Jess Phillips (L); Preet Gill (L);
Website	www.birmingham.gov.uk

Birmingham (/ˈbɜːrmɪŋəm/ (listen)^[3] BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest metropolitan area and city in the United Kingdom.

About 1.1 million people live in Birmingham. Around 4.3 million people live in its metropolitan area.^[4]^[5]^[6] Many people call it the "second city" of the United Kingdom.^[7]^[8]^[9]

History

Birmingham began as a small town in 1166. Queen Victoria gave city status to Birmingham in 1889.

Many industries were developed in Birmingham during the 18th and 19th centuries. These included making weapons and food.

Birmingham manufacturing industry played a big role in the war effort in World War I and World War II. The WWII spitfire aeroplane was made in Birmingham. In 2000, a statue of stylised spitfires was erected next to the old factory site. The factory now makes Jaguar cars. Birmingham had a large car making industry. It has declined since the 1980s. It remains the home town for Jaguar and Land Rover cars.

In 1974, twenty-one people were killed in the Birmingham pub bombings.^[10]

Transport

Grand Union Canal

Birmingham was an important stagine-post in the Victorian industrial canal system. Today it is the northern terminus of the Grand Union Canal to London. Heavy goods (as coal surely is) are most economically moved on water. No other form of transport is so efficient.

Motorways

The M40 motorway connects to London via Oxford. The M6 motorway also connects Birmingham to London (via the M1) and to the north-west of England and Scotland. Junction 6 of the M6 is also one of Birmingham's landmarks, and probably the most notable motorway junction in the UK, Spaghetti Junction, officially called the Gravelly Hill Interchange. Other motorways are:

The A38(M) which links Spaghetti Junction to the city centre
The M5, connecting Birmingham to the south-west of England
The M42, which connects Birmingham to Tamworth and the East Midlands
The M6 Toll, which enables through traffic on the M6 to bypass Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Birmingham, unlike London and Manchester, does not have a single orbital motorway. Instead, three motorways form a box which surrounds most of the city. These are:

The M42 to the south and east. In the middle, the M40 ends. It has priority for traffic going from the M40 to the M42 west. The M40 goes off south to Warwick, Oxford, High Wycombe, Uxbridge and London.
The M5 which forms the western section.
The M6 which forms the northern section. The M5 ends on the M6.