Birmingham Homes & Real Estate

Birmingham Location

The City of Birmingham is located approximately halfway between the City of Detroit and the City of Pontiac, in Oakland County. Easily accessible to all major freeways and the airport, Birmingham is also bordered by Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Beverly Hills, Royal Oak and Troy. Birmingham is vibrant and prosperous, with a population of approximately 20,000. Covering only 4.7 square miles, our community is able to maintain the feel of a small town, while experiencing the benefits and amenities of an affluent urban area.

Birmingham is a city in Oakland County Michigan and a suburb of Detroit. The city's downtown attracts shoppers from throughout the Metro Detroit area. The city's area is 4.7 miles. The City of Birmingham is located approximately halfway between the City of Detroit and the City of Pontiac, in Oakland County. Easily accessible to all major freeways and the airport, Birmingham is also bordered by Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Beverly Hills, Royal Oak, and Troy.

Birmingham is vibrant and prosperous, with a population of approximately 20,000. Covering only 4.7 square miles, our community is able to maintain the feel of a small town, while experiencing the benefits and amenities of an affluent urban area.

Living in Birmingham

The City has a lively, pedestrian-friendly downtown offering one of the Midwest's premier shopping districts. Comprised of nearly 300 retailers, the City offers a wonderfully diverse assortment of restaurants, clothing and gift stores, salons, spas, antique shops, and art galleries. Movie theatres and a centrally located park complete the city center. Whether you want to stroll the streets with your family and grab an ice cream or check out the latest in designer fashions capped off with an evening of some of Metro’s Detroit’s finest dining, Birmingham offers it all. Our city is truly a place to "live, shop, and play".

Our city appreciates art and culture in its many forms. Residents can spend a summer evening listening to a concert in the park, attend one of our many festivals or music concerts, take a Sunday morning stroll at the Farmers' Market, browse our galleries, or take in the latest movies at one of our two theaters.

Our recreational amenities are plentiful, with over 20 parks offering passive and active recreational opportunities. Tennis courts, two municipal golf courses, baseball diamonds, soccer pitches, playground equipment, and picnic areas await you in Birmingham. A wooded trail system, urban bike paths, and the Rouge River all wind their way through the heart of the City.

Birmingham Schools

Birmingham Public Schools (BPS), formally the Birmingham City School District, is the public school district for Birmingham, Michigan. Beyond Birmingham, the district provides public school services for all areas of the following municipalities: Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Franklin and Southfield Township, Michigan; and parts of these municipalities: Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Southfield, Troy and West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. The current superintendent is Dr. Daniel Nerad.

Birmingham Public Schools runs eight elementary schools, one 3–8th grade school, two middle schools, two high schools, and one alternative high school. Each elementary school hosts a half-day preschool program and the district also runs a preschool program out of Midvale BPS Early Childcare Center. The Birmingham Public Schools Strategic Plan calls for a curriculum that is updated and challenging for all students. Curriculum planning and staff development, incorporating developmentally appropriate practices, occur progressively beginning at the kindergarten level. Students in the district have access to a comprehensive arts program, music education, physical education, health life management classes, and world languages.

In 2009 the district introduced a unique program called !gnite. This program was developed after the success of the Engage program at Birmingham Covington School. The !gnite initiative strives to create flexible learning environments where the use of technology is a seamless part of the process, ubiquitous in connecting learners to content, each other, and the global community. Students work extensively with digital tools to create podcasts, videocasts, still images and mind maps; and use Web-based environments such as Moodle, blogs, and wikis to construct, communicate and collaborate across time, space and geographical boundaries.

Community Info

Opportunities for recreation are available year-round in Birmingham. Twenty-six parks with over 230 acres cover more than 10% of the city's total acreage, and the school district also provides recreational facilities. Residents can play baseball, softball, and tennis, and enjoy playgrounds, picnic facilities and two miles of trails along the Rouge River.

Two nine-hole municipal golf courses offer golf and golf lessons. The Birmingham Racquet Club features indoor courts and a waiting area. Those who enjoy winter sports can sled and cross country ski at Birmingham's Lincoln Hills golf course. Indoor ice skating is available at the Ice Sports Arena which provides for open skating, lessons and ice hockey group and an outside temporary ice arena at Barnum Park is available to use based on the climate.

Birmingham’s parks and recreational services extend beyond its residents. The city’s exceptional facilities are host to a variety of private organizations and residents of neighboring communities who rely on the recreational facilities for their programming needs. In addition, Birmingham’s parks and programmed events, such as In the Park Summer Concerts, have become regional destinations.