General News

By Fatima Rodriguez Caba

In 2019 and 2020, homicide rates within Charlotte rose by 45%.

This rise motivated the City of Charlotte to implement the Alternatives to Violence program within the Beatties Ford Road corridor. The corridor includes historical landmark neighborhoods and sites, Black-owned businesses and Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte’s only historically Black college. While rich in community, history and culture, the corridor has borne the burden of historical discrimination and marginalization (e.g., redlining, predatory lending), resulting in a lack of socioeconomic development and resource investment– leading to disproportionately higher rates of poverty, crime and violence within the corridor […]

By Sydney Idzikowski
We are pleased to release the second annual State of Our Data report! The report provides the Charlotte Regional Data Trust Board of Directors, as well as our communities, partners and stakeholders with an annual update and summary of our community data ecosystem. The report also dives into the data we hold in trust and why it matters, and the work we do at the Charlotte Urban Institute and Regional Data Trust […]

By Bianca Bagley
Researchers are busy people who make time to read. Our staff enjoyed a range of titles this year that gave them insight into the various topics they study. Looking for your next 2026 read? Here are seven books that […]

By Katie Zager
Chamberofcommerce.org, a business-minded website recently published an article outlining the cities with the most “House Poor” Homeowners. They define “house poor” as synonymous with “cost burdened,” using the 30% rule. That is: a household is considered cost-burdened if they spend more than 30% of their income on housing and housing-related expenses, such as insurance and utilities.

But, it time to rethink the 30% rule […]

By Sarah Ostyn

The research is clear: 90% of the brain develops before age 51.

Experiences that occur during this period set the stage for everything that is to come, making early childhood an exciting and significant time in our lives. Children – especially immigrant children and those in low-income households2 – who participate in high-quality early care and education, also known as ECE, have higher educational attainment, resulting in stronger communities and local economic growth […]

By Jenny Hutchison, Ph.D.
Finding stable housing can be one of the greatest challenges for young people transitioning from foster care to young adulthood. What happens next can affect their economic mobility journey, as well as community wellbeing. But what’s the case for Mecklenburg County?

By Bridget Anderson and Mary Ann Priester, Ph.D.
This article reflects on the enduring partnership between the Charlotte Urban Institute and Mecklenburg County Community Support Services, which together, recently marked 10 years of advancing data-driven efforts to address housing instability and homelessness. As the formal project partnership comes to a close, this milestone offers an opportunity to look back on the impact of our shared work, the foundation it leaves for future progress, and the questions we must continue to ask ourselves to ensure data translates into action in people’s lives […]

By Sydney Idzikowski
The Charlotte Regional Data Trust (Data Trust) is an integrated data system where people can make requests of its data for research, evaluation or planning purposes.

The uses of data must be for public good and all requests for data are reviewed by our Data and Research Oversight Committee. Here. you will find requests people have submitted for Data Trust data so far in 2025 […]

By Asha Ellison
More than 100 community-minded data nerds gathered at the Grand Bohemian Charlotte on September 10 for the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) annual meeting. The network, composed of more than 30 local organizations in 31 U.S. cities, convenes once a year to mix, mingle, and share data insights and strategies to improve the quality of life for people across the nation. The three-day September event was hosted by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute (Institute), the City of Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County. Collectively, the trio represents Charlotte in the network as a member of the NNIP through its collaboration to provide the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Quality of Life Explorer. This year’s meeting was particularly special because Institute staff had the opportunity to share the beauty, history, culture – and challenges – of the Queen City while learning and having fun along the way.

Those attending the event were able to participate in or observe engaging showcases, presentations, powerful panel discussions, and small group sessions that covered a range of topics, including the challenges and successes of local data use, governance […]

By Asha Ellison
Associate Professor of Sociology Vaughn Schmutz, Ph.D., was recently selected as the senior faculty fellow for the 2025-26 Gambrell Faculty Fellowship. He is the first senior faculty fellow in the history of the program. The Gambrell Faculty Fellowship began in 2019 to support innovative scholarship that leads to a great quality of life for everyone in the Charlotte region […]