LESS Poverty in Alabama's largest city?

     It seems counterintuitive, but according to a report from the Metropolitan Policy Program of The Brookings Institute, the number of poor people in the city of Birmingham actually dropped by 2.4% between 2000 and 2008. At the same time, the number of poor people in the city's suburbs increased slightly.

     The report studied the country's largest metro areas, and found the "suburbanization of poverty" to be even more distinct in other metropolitan areas.

     The report also predicts an increase in the poverty level for the city of 2.4 per cent because of increases in unemployment in Birmingham last year.