Articles

Baby boomers are not waiting around for someone to help them cross the street. The local organization of AARP sent out volunteers to assess how well some Charlotte intersections treat pedestrians, including those of AARP-membership age. As part of AARP Walkable Charlotte Week, about two dozen volunteers, armed with stop watches and digital cameras, evaluated […]

Baby boomers are not waiting around for someone to help them cross the street. The local organization of AARP sent out volunteers to assess how well some Charlotte intersections treat pedestrians, including those of AARP-membership age. As part of AARP Walkable Charlotte Week, about two dozen volunteers, armed with stop watches and digital cameras, evaluated […]

Once a myth takes hold in the fertile ground of the South, it often persists with a vengeance. Many people still believe early European settlers arrived to find an unbroken canopy of trees sheltering the Piedmont. According to Reed Noss, author of Forgotten Grasslands of the South, “The lack of awareness of native grasslands in […]

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department won’t pursue zoning regulations aimed at dealing with rent-by-the-bedroom apartment complexes near colleges and universities. But it will continue working to solve parking and transportation issues near the schools. The staff recommendation October 21 to the City Council’s Transportation and Planning Committee means students and residents living near UNC Charlotte and […]

If you’ve been paying any attention to national politics in recent weeks, you’ve surely heard remarks like: Why don’t politicians listen to the people? How can we get through to them? Why can’t government get anything done? But when people say “the government,” what government do they mean? It’s likely they’re thinking of the sclerotic […]

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s online publication, PlanCharlotte.org, has won a $12,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to boost a project that will look at Charlotte’s creeks. The grant from Knight Foundation Fund at Foundation For The Carolinas will pay a researcher in local history who will examine the role […]

Jody Pressley, project leader for the Transportation Information Management System, is featured in the November issue of School Bus Fleet magazine as one of “14 Phenomenal Women in School Transportation.” TIMS is a collaboration among the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, where Pressley works, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and the Institute for Transportation Research […]

Sphingidae is a family of moths that are commonly referred to as hummingbird, sphinx or hawk moths. Some of the largest moths on earth, they have a heavy body and narrow wings. They are agile fliers and have the capability of rapid wing movement that allows them to hover over plants, and even move side […]

Tags:ECONOMY, Survey

People in Mecklenburg County are feeling the effects of the economic recovery, according to results from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s 2013 Annual Survey. Most people surveyed said their economic situation is getting better, in higher numbers than at any time since 2010. They’re optimistic for the future, too. The survey of 400 Mecklenburg County […]

After nearly three decades of hoping for a new park, the Reid Park neighborhood in west Charlotte may be on its way to getting one designed, not by the county, but a student. UNC Charlotte urban design and community planning student Dylan McKnight began working on a park design for the neighborhood as a major […]

A key city advisory committee Monday deferred a recommendation on a proposed rezoning to allow for an auto mall near a proposed light rail station in University City. The deferral by the Zoning Committee of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission until its Oct. 30 meeting means the decision on the proposal will fall to a newly […]

After months of steady – and sometimes excessive – rain, we’ve recently seen a more typical pattern of precipitation. Autumn is our driest season. If this trend continues and we don’t receive a soaking from a hurricane or tropical storm, our total precipitation for 2013 could be deceptively average. It’s been a banner year for […]