Articles
Is it prescient and forward-thinking for the city to encourage subsidized housing at rapid transit stations in coming decades? Or would that be the nail in the coffin, killing any near-term chance to halt a pattern of sinking property values near some of those stations, especially in troubled parts of east and northeast Charlotte? Two […]
Data on schools and school districts are abundant. Both the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s websites hold a wealth of data at both levels. But with a district as large as CMS, it is painstaking work to analyze school-level data in a meaningful way. The MeckEd partner page contains data […]
Smart cities around the world use two secret weapons to form leadership and stay ahead of the pack in planning and economic development. One mechanism is internal, an informal, diverse but cohesive planning elite. Another is external, an outward-looking and systematic search for new knowledge, often by visiting other cities. I use “planning” in a […]
Architect, planner and author Stephen Mouzon, did more than just give some lectures from his book, Original Green: Unlocking the Mystery of True Sustainability, when he was in town recently. He also took a look at a section of south Charlotte that he thinks might be ripe for a different kind of long-range plan: the […]
If you’ve driven by the Low Water Bridge recently, you probably have seen a good bit of bulldozer activity and wondered what exactly was happening to this beautiful natural area. The work is being undertaken with a promising objective in mind. The LandTrust of Central N.C. is partnering with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to […]
From Davidson to Harrisburg to Gaston County, public and private officials are working to capture some of a national increase in freight rail traffic. But those efforts have upset some residents. And the possibility of freight NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) might create yet another obstacle for a proposed commuter rail line from uptown […]
From 1976 to 2005, developed land in the 16-county Greater Triangle and Rocky Mount region increased nearly 570 percent, from 39,743 developed acres in 1976 to 264,883 acres in 2005. By 2040 this figure is expected to increase nearly 150 percent or an additional 393,925 acres, according to projections just released from a forthcoming study […]
Around the Charlotte region, many downtowns share similar histories: A long-ago heyday followed by decay as dollars and foot traffic flowed to suburban malls and interstate eateries. A growing list of those places, however, are fighting back, seeking to revive their economies and preserve their histories by joining North Carolina’s Main Street and Small Town […]
Children without hope can be found in every community. Father Greg Boyle has been working on this issue for decades through Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. He spoke in Charlotte this week about Homeboy, which is recognized as the largest gang intervention program in the country. Homeboy Industries’ slogan is, “nothing stops a bullet like […]
There I was, pencil poised over a large drawing of Gastonia. It was 1997 and I was running a public workshop to design a network of greenways and open spaces for residents to enjoy as recreational and natural amenities. Someone in the background was fiddling with a radio. Then, as I remember the moment, the […]
A voluntary inclusionary housing program, such as the one the City of Charlotte is considering, aims to stimulate development of geographically dispersed mixed-income housing by encouraging developers to include a small percentage of housing for low-income households amid market-rate housing in new developments. Some cities, such as Davidson and Chapel Hill, make this type of […]
Many birds lead lifestyles of the rich and famous – they “summer” in one location and “winter” in another. After nesting in the United States, some birds depart for second homes in South America or the Caribbean. Others are content to travel no farther than the Uwharries in the N.C. Piedmont. Migration is a risky […]