Could Birmingham Become ?Britain?s Berlin? For Tech?

Rolling into Birmingham in the UK on a train from London you'll see what looks like a couple of derelict car parks and the odd flash of graffiti on the side of some disused building. Indeed, for this observer, Birmingham was almost reminiscent of Berlin, with its many concrete buildings and 60s architecture. It the kind of place you can see giving birth to the band Black Sabbath, as it did in the 1970s. But though the impression of a city that's a little rough around the edges works from some angles, this city has plenty to suggest it's not quite 'poor but sexy' as Berlin has been described, especially when you realise the derelict building is earmarked with signage for development, and the carpark has the word "Temporary" on it. Indeed, although this is the UK's sometime's forgotten second city - perhaps because of the 'media dominance' of Manchester in the world's of football and music - Birmingham city has the second-largest economy in the United Kingdom, is a big employer in banking and finance and its university is regarded as part of the English "Ivy League". From that basis and being only just over an hour from London, Birmingham looks like it might have the making of a new hub for technology companies in Europe.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HEwDI4tizGQ/

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