General News

by the Charlotte Urban Institute

Charlotte’s affordable housing challenges did not develop overnight and a solution to the city’s concerns will take coordinated effort – and time. As home prices and rents continue to outpace wages, and construction costs rise, the City of Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund, also referred to as HTF, has become one of the community’s primary tools for creating and preserving housing that remains affordable for households with lower to moderate incomes. But understanding whether these investments are making a lasting difference requires looking at more than just the number of housing units built to meet immediate and projected needs – it also means asking who is being served and how stable, affordable housing shapes these residents’ li[…]

by Sydney Idzikowski and Elaine Jacobs

As a nonprofit organization, the UNC Charlotte Regional Data Trust is governed by a board of directors who are committed to increasing the community’s capacity for data-informed decision-making, and fostering research that impacts the community and deepens understanding of complex community issues. The board has fiduciary oversight over the data and operations of the Data Trust, and also serves in an advisory role over the research and engagement agenda for the Charlotte Urban Insti[…]

by Kailas Venkitasubramanian, Ph.D. and Asha Ellison

Agriculture remains an essential part of the Charlotte region, but it is undergoing a profound transformation. New analysis of the 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture shows that while farms are becoming fewer, larger and more productive on average, the long-term future of farming is increasingly uncertain as development pressures, rising land costs and an aging producer population reshape the landscape.

In fact, between 2017 and 2022, the Charlotte region lost 760 farms. Across 14 counties, that’s a decline of eight percent – nearly one in every 13 far[…]

by Annalise Tolley

Within the nonprofit and civil service sector, it’s not uncommon to approach social impact reporting the way we approach math: add up the money, the person power, the activities delivered and expect to get to outcomes. In reality, it’s not usually that simple. What makes or breaks social impact isn’t simply an equation, however, it’s also the human elements.

Things like love, hope, trust and agency–concepts we’re calling “intangibles” because they can’t be easily held in our hands or counted–are often the secret sauce to delivering successful programs and […]

by Bianca Bagley

Vrishab Nooka has a passion to make complex financial information accessible to all  through technology.

The UNC Charlotte sophomore and Charlotte Urban Institute research intern, who recently completed his first year as an economics and computer science major, has dedicated his early studies to research that focuses on how Federal Open Market Committee rates affect certain parts of the stock market – and how to make this information more available to the general public […]

by Liz Morrell

Housing affordability has become one of the defining challenges facing cities across the United States, and Charlotte is no exception. As housing prices continue to rise faster than wages, more residents across the income spectrum are struggling to find stable, affordable places to live.

This is the first article from a series of briefs that will help provide a clearer understanding of how Charlotte’s affordable housing investments shape housing stability, neighborhood conditions and economic opportunity across […]

by Candace Edwards and Sydney Idzikowski

Ever wonder if you’re represented  in the Charlotte Regional Data Trust?

Since 2016, more than a million Mecklenburg County residents (1,079,074) have been part of the Data Trust. And that’s because our data are people […]

by Bianca Bagley

The Charlotte region continues to grow. It seems like everywhere you turn there are new housing developments, shopping centers and schools being built to support our population. Data from the 2025 census illustrates this phenomenon. The Queen City is becoming an increasingly popular destination for domestic and international migrants alike with Charlotte being named one of the top five metropolitan areas for growth between July 2024 and July 2025.

In fact, between 2020 and 2025, the 14-county Charlotte metropolitan region that includes Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Chester, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lancaster, Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Rowan, Stanly, Union, and York counties in North and South Carolina added 289,331 residents […]

by Fatima Rodriguez Caba

It’s commencement season again at UNC Charlotte, and here at the Urban Institute, we couldn’t be more excited! Commencement is a wonderful time not only for our campus but also for our city. As sounds of excitement and joy fill the air, we want to take a moment to celebrate two recent graduates whose work with the Institute – and time at the University – culminated in hard-earned, well-deserved achievement.

Special congratulations are in order for graduate research assistants, Austin Trujillo and Varad Paradkar, who joined the latest class of Niner alumni on Saturday, May 9, 2026!

by Mia Gaddy and Liz Morrell

Food insecurity is not always obvious.  

It occurs when someone is experiencing limited or inadequate access to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food due to social or economic constraints. 18 million people in the United States are experiencing food insecurity, and of that 18 million, 6.8 million face both food insecurity and hunger.

Food insecurity impacts thousands of residents in Mecklenburg County. While the region continues to grow, gaps in access persist […]