Articles
In response to the news that the City of Charlotte is considering buying Eastland Mall in an effort to make the site attractive to an outside developer, possibly for use as TV and movie studios, PlanCharlotte.org sought opinions from civic and business leaders about the idea. They were asked: 1. Should the city buy Eastland […]
The third quarter 2012 Charlotte Business Confidence Index report, released July 2, shows Mecklenburg County business leaders’ optimism about economic prospects declined compared to their expectations for the second quarter of 2012. The overall index value of 55.4, a decrease of 3.4 points compared to the second quarter, remains positive on business confidence overall, with […]
Tea has been synonymous with political protest ever since colonists dumped shiploads of the stuff into Boston Harbor in a 1773 act of rebellion against the Crown. In historian Eric Rutkow’s recent book, American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation, he notes that trees were an equally potent symbol of liberty in […]
Where are you going this year for the Fourth of July? Hiking Western North Carolina’s Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi? Camping in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area of the Pisgah National Forest? Maybe you’ll spend the day trout fishing in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, or drive the scenic Blue […]
Charlotte is joining the growing ranks of cities seeking to make streets safer by turning some bicycle lanes green. City officials hope adding green markings to existing bike lanes at certain heavily traveled intersections will more clearly, visibly and safely separate bicycles from other vehicles. The city has installed its first green lane markings on […]
Where are you going for the 4th of July this year? Hiking the western North Carolina Mountains, where you could go for a hike up Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi)? Camping in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area of the Pisgah National Forest? You could plan on spending the day trout fishing […]
Several years ago, when we were planning to change the way we manage some of our land, I happened to meet Bob Askins, a biology professor at Connecticut College and author of Restoring North America’s Birds: Lessons from Landscape Ecology. As we discussed my projects, he encouraged me to do a baseline inventory before we […]
Two different organizations in the Charlotte region are using borrowed land and volunteer labor to get fresh, local food on the plates of people who need it most. Sow Much Good raises vegetables to sell well below market cost in low-income neighborhoods that are far from traditional farmers markets, while Friendship Gardens, started by Slow […]
Amid a political environment attacking global sustainability initiatives, a new national poll by the American Planning Association released Thursday finds bipartisan support for planning, as well as belief that community planners play a key role in economic recovery. Some political groups have attacked planning and are crafting laws that would bar cooperative planning or ban […]
What better summertime activity for a kid in the country than playing in a creek? There is really nothing better than sticking your feet in a cool stream under the forest canopy where it feels 10 degrees cooler than in the sun. And whenever I walk in the woods and come up to a rocky […]
A new Charlotte Knights stadium uptown will be a catalyst for urban development, add to the character of the cityscape and let families and friends savor a spectacular skyline view while enjoying America’s pastime. An analysis of multiple potential sites, plus interviews with more than 100 civic leaders and stakeholders all produced this conclusion: The […]
This article opposes plans to build a new ballpark for the Charlotte Knights uptown. Read architect Marley Carroll’s article supporting the idea here. Missing from recent discussions about granting more public money for a privately developed baseball park in Third Ward is any talk about the potential advantages of using the land for public purposes […]