Birmingham (“Brum” for short) has always gotten somewhat of a bad rap
in England. The Brummie accent consistently places last in accent polls that, we kid you
not, rate styles of speech on their attractiveness and intelligence. Londoners have stuck
their noses up at dirty, dangerous Brum for years. Modern reinvigoration projects,
however, have drastically changed the landscape of the UK’s second largest city,
transforming the town piece by piece with classy post-modern architecture and brand-new,
shiny shopping districts. Even the old industrial canals have been transformed into an
upscale waterfront area. Despite this extreme facelift, the massive blocks of concrete and
highways are unlikely to disappear anytime soon. And so, amid a thriving cosmopolitan
scene, Brimingham’s industrial past peaks through.