Articles

Forget Jason Bourne. Forget 007. Forget The French Connection. Equally thrilling chase scenes occur every day in the forests of the Uwharries. While action films are standard fare at the multiplex, we rarely witness the dramas unfolding in our own backyard, as raptors pursue their prey. Want a ticket to a front row seat? Spend […]

Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia’s much anticipated Tactical Urbanism – Short Term Actions for Long-Term Change is due out in a few weeks. Reading the galleys brings to mind how widespread and quickly this global movement has grown, Charlotte and Raleigh being no exception. The term tactical urbanism refers to quick, often temporary projects aimed […]

I’ve long had a question about the nature of uptown Charlotte. Why do Charlotte’s uptown blocks look more like “diamonds” than “squares”? Streets in other cities (such as Raleigh, Chicago and New York, for instance) go north-south and east-west in a classic grid pattern. Charlotte’s uptown streets are also in a grid, but they lie […]

The following is excerpted, with permission, from Margins of a Greater Wildness: Nature Essays on Stanley Creek and Beyond, a collection of essays by Richard Rankin on local topics from the Stanley Creek community in eastern Gaston County, where the Rankin family has lived for many generations. Although Ralph and Estelle Rankin lived and worked […]

A year-long study examining the needs of Mecklenburg County’s elderly population found that the county’s approach to older adults should focus on stronger and longer-term planning supported by more vigorous collaboration among service providers. Among the most pressing issues facing older adults, the study found, are access to transportation services, housing choices, caregiving support and […]

After three years of citizen engagement and the creation of a Regional Growth Framework for the 14-county Charlotte region, the CONNECT Our Future initiative moves into the implementation phase, to assist local governments in their individual efforts to realize the goals and objectives of that framework. One element of the implementation phase is a collaboration […]

Every neighborhood has a story, but often the people who live there don’t know what they are or where to find them. Does it have a special landmark that ought to be preserved? What about an interesting history? Maybe it has environmental treasures or distinctive architectural features. Materials from workshops available online. Click here to […]

It’s been said that good fences make good neighbors, but a dense, evergreen hedge can keep the peace and provide attractive wildlife habitat as well. Whether you live on a tenth of an acre in town or a hundred acres in the country, you always abut a property you cannot control, and sometimes a fence […]

A new book from UNC Charlotte educators and researchers examines the desegregation and resegregation of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools over the past 40 years, putting education reform in a political and economic context. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: School Desegregation and Resegregation in Charlotte, is edited by Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, a UNC Charlotte professor; Stephen Samuel Smith, a […]

For years subdivisions have been filling acres of farmland in Union County. Yet developers there are looking longingly at missed opportunities for restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores. Unincorporated Union County is dry. That means no public sale of beer or wine. No liquor stores. No liquor-by-the-drink. “I know there is interest in an upscale […]

I was fortunate to have a completely new and exciting hunting experience recently, going grouse hunting in West Virginia. I’ve not done much upland bird hunting, so it was different from most of my hunting experiences. It was both challenging and exhilarating, and I can’t wait to go again. Grouse live mostly in wooded areas, […]

Do you have a favorite Main Street, greenway, or historic rehabilitation? Join in this year’s competition to nominate and vote on your favorite North Carolina places. More information Visit www.greatplacesnc.org for more information, nominating forms and past winners. Great Places in North Carolina is an awards program created in 2012 to highlight North Carolina’s Great […]