Charlotte

Almost one in six Mecklenburg residents were born outside the U.S., and immigrants make an outsized contribution to the local economy and many key industries. That’s according to a new study examining the economic impact of immigration in the “Gateways for Growth” series. Conducted by the pro-immigration think tank New American Economy, in partnership with […]

“How shall we grow?” That question was the dramatic title of a 1955 report examining the Charlotte region’s breakneck growth (Almost 200,000 residents and 75,000 cars in the county!) and looming challenges. Confronted with worsening traffic, inadequate transportation options, a lack of park space and the fear that growth was running away without a real, […]

It’s happening across Charlotte: Apartments, office buildings and restaurants are popping up in parking lots, as dense, mixed-use developments, connected by bicycle paths and walking trails, invade suburbia. Within the past month, major plans have been announced for densifying and transforming chunks of Ballantyne, SouthPark and University City – three of the biggest bastions of […]

Are youth who are disengaged from school more likely to enter the juvenile justice system – and does this vary for youth of different races and ethnicities? That was the question UNC Charlotte professor Dr. Susan McCarter set out to answer. Using data from the Institute for Social Capital, an integrated data system that’s part […]

A long-range game plan to dramatically reduce Charlotte’s greenhouse gas footprint has been an on-again, off-again priority since 2007. That’s when Charlotte City Council adopted its first greenhouse gas emission reduction resolution. And now, after a lapse of 11 years, it’s on again. In one of his first initiatives as newly elected mayor in 2009, […]

While Charlotte’s light rail line runs through the city’s glittering uptown – a tunnel of office towers and parking decks – at the farther reaches, the landscape tells different stories. Along the route of the Blue Line, from the edge of Pineville on the south to the UNC Charlotte campus at the north, you find […]

Population growth in Charlotte and Raleigh continues apace, driving rapid growth into areas nearby. Example: The historic city of Hickory is now smaller than the former hamlet of Huntersville.  

Did you know: ♦ At one time, if you lived on the north side of 37th Street in the NoDa neighborhood you could keep hogs and sell fireworks, but if you lived across the street on the south side you could not. The city limits line ran down the middle of the street. ♦ A […]

You can add the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission to the local voices expressing concern about development moving rapidly as the city’s process to rewrite its aging zoning code moves far slower. At its monthly work session Monday, members of the planning commission spent several minutes discussing what some see as rising community concern over new developments […]

A Friday “sustainability fair” in uptown Charlotte will mark the city’s participation in America Recycles Day. The event will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at The Square (Trade and Tryon streets). More on recycling The story behind your recycling bin Why you can’t toss these in your recycling bin Facts, figures on plastics and recycling Hosts […]