General News
Finding a lesson in city’s budget, streetcar impasse
How did this happen? How did a Charlotte City Council – with all 11 members willing to vote for a small property tax hike to pay for an ambitious, five-year plan of neighborhood improvements – wind up killing that five-year plan? Plenty of armchair quarterbacking is going on now, divvying blame or credit (depending on […]
Little-known fund conserves some treasured places
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 […]
Green lanes? Whatever for?
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 […]
Conserving the places you will enjoy this vacation season
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 […]
Restoring habitats: Start with a baseline inventory
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 […]
Growing the market for local foods
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 sustainability criticism, poll finds public prefers planning
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 […]
You get a line, I’ll get a pole, we’ll go fishing in a crawdad hole
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 […]
How urban should Park-Woodlawn area become?
More than a half century after Park Road Shopping Center sprouted at what was then Charlotte’s southern edge, the Park Road-Woodlawn Road area has held up remarkably well. Residents say they love living in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhoods of mostly single-family homes that surround a busy cluster of shops and restaurants near the intersection of […]
Stadium could be spectacular city amenity
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 […]