General News

Five things to watch as Charlotte grows in 2022

Categories: General News Tags: DEVELOPMENT, PLANNING

Despite the pandemic and economic uncertainty, 2021 was a banner year for Charlotte, with major developments announced, a long-awaited new vision plan for the city and big – if uncertain – steps towards a new transit plan. The city’s growth isn’t expected to slow in 2022, but the ways in which Charlotte grows could change. […]

Technology, sensors and AI in design

Imagine this scenario: Building designers are trying to figure out why pedestrian traffic at one spot in an airport terminal past the security checkpoints is consistently snarled. A decade or two ago, the designers might sit in the terminal, counting passengers with a clicker, and trying to get a select sample to answer a few […]

As projected construction costs surge, state road money dries up

New projections from North Carolina’s Department of Transportation show the state is $12 billion short on funding its next slate of transportation projects — nearly double the gap reported earlier this year. It’s a serious shortfall that’s expected to leave plans for roads, bridges and other infrastructure throughout the state waiting on the drawing board […]

Charlotte wants more walkability. Fast-food companies want more drive-thru-only restaurants. Can they coexist?

Nowhere in Charlotte embodies the city’s awkward and aspirational transition from car-centric Sun Belt suburbia to denser, walkable urbanism quite like a pair of fried chicken restaurants in Cotswold. Located next to each other near the intersection of Randolph and Sharon Amity roads, Bojangles and Chick-fil-A have both filed rezoning requests to demolish their existing […]

How are Housing Choice Vouchers distributed across Southeastern Cities?

This research was used by USA Today for an investigative series called ‘Segregated by Section 8.’ The series is available online here (subscriber-only). Housing Choice Vouchers are a subsidy that helps extremely low income individuals and families (defined by HUD as earning less than 30% of area median income) afford housing in the private market. […]

You have a voice in mapping Charlotte’s future

Categories: General News Tags: PLANNING, Podcasts

When it comes to planning, development and land use regulation, it’s easy to let your eyes glaze over in the alphabet soup of jargo. So, let’s get a little nerdy and jump right into the alphabet soup of zoning, land use, planning and development on this episode. Join us for a talk with Keba Samuel […]

The price tag for building a better bus system in Charlotte

Categories: General News Tags: Transit, TRANSPORTATION

When it comes to public transit in Charlotte, trains get the spotlight while buses carry the majority of passengers. That’s why the city plans to invest more in improving the bus system in coming years, adding frequency and experimenting with measures like bus-only lanes and traffic lights that give buses priority in order to improve […]

Should Charlotte bring back traffic cameras?

The city of Charlotte has a problem: Despite pledging to end traffic deaths by 2030, we’re on pace to see as many or even more people killed on the roads this year than last, and officials say speed is the single biggest contributing factor. Could automated cameras to catch speeders and nab red light-runners be […]

Seeking a new path: Announcing the third Gambrell Faculty Fellows cohort

Our Charlotte region continues to wrestle with a vexing challenge: How can we improve economic mobility so that all of our community members can share the benefits of growth? It’s a big question, one that touches on everything from the justice system to the transit system, how much we make at our jobs to how […]

Employee ownership as a tool for reducing the racial wealth gap

Dr. Matthew Metzgar Dr. Mark DeHaven Donna Schultz Guenevere Abernathy This project is part of the third cohort of Gambrell Faculty Fellows. Read about the fellows progam and other projects here. When it comes to the gap in resources between White, Black and Latinx families, wealth is a bigger factor than income. On average, White […]