Ely Portillo

Stories by Ely Portillo

Concerns about Charlotte's new comprehensive plan rise from many quarters

Neighborhood activists fighting to preserve single-family-only neighborhoods, Charlotte City Council members worried about gentrification overwhelming historically Black neighborhoods and...



2020 was supposed to be ‘year of the plan.’ What happened?

Back in late 2019 – before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the world – it looked like 2020 would be the year for plans to guide our community’s growth for the next several decades would...



Who’s paying attention to the planning conversation in Charlotte?

Charlotte City Council members confronted an uncomfortable question Monday: How can you get people in the general public to pay attention to technical, somewhat boring, but extremely important...



Moving to the suburbs: Three things I’ve learned that make me hopeful

When the moving truck pulled up to the Dilworth duplex we’d been renting for years, I felt more than a twinge of regret to be leaving the urban amenities I’d come to love.



Updated maps let you explore Charlotte’s changing housing

Which Charlotte neighborhoods have gotten denser, with more residences per acre? Where have average home sizes ballooned?