General News

The number of farms in North Carolina is declining

“The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” President John F. Kennedy To say that agriculture is important in North Carolina would be an obvious understatement. Agriculture and agribusiness, including food, forestry, and fiber, is the number one industry […]

Is this road design a better way to move, or an outdated solution for traffic?

As Charlotte grows denser and more urban, parts of the city built decades ago on an auto-centric, suburban framework are struggling to both absorb more traffic and adapt to new beliefs about how people should get around. A one-mile stretch of congested road in fast-growing University City illustrates the tensions between balancing the needs of […]

Celebrating the diversity of birds in the Uwharries

Some birds fly thousands of miles to the pine stands and fields around Charlotte. So why not take a short drive to go see them? The Three Rivers Land Trust held our eighth annual Uwharrie Naturalist Day on May 4, and hosted a birdwatching event on our Smith Branch Longleaf Preserve in Montgomery County. The […]

As development booms, Charlotte still wrestles with density

With Charlotte’s population growing by dozens of people a day, planners, politicians and many residents agree that denser development is inevitable in the city’s future. But just how dense – and exactly where to build that extra density – remain thorny questions, especially when denser developments are proposed in single-family neighborhoods. The tension between wanting […]

Charlotte is backing off its goal of 50 percent tree canopy by 2050

Charlotte won’t reach its goal of tree canopy covering 50 percent of the city by 2050, officials said last week. Instead, the city is planning to focus on smaller, neighborhood-level targets and “fifty-themed” initiatives to promote trees. “It’s still possible to reach 50 percent, but it would be extremely challenging,” said city arborist Tim Porter, […]

Charlotte is ‘on the cusp’ of its first true regional transit plan

The Charlotte region is taking concrete steps towards building a regional transit system that crosses county lines, but plenty of big questions remain. Chief among them: Who will pay? Charlotte Area Transit System planners are starting design work on the Silver Line. The new light rail will potentially run from Stallings through Matthews, around uptown […]

People assume transit causes displacement. Does it really?

It’s a familiar story: A new transit line opens, spurring gentrification in nearby neighborhoods and pushing out long-time residents. But is that always what happens? New research from Dr. Elizabeth Delmelle, Dr. Isabelle Nilsson, Dr. Claire Schuch, and Tonderai Mushipe – all from UNC Charlotte’s Department of Geography and Earth Sciences – shows that the […]

Offices in South End, apartments in Ballantyne? Lines are blurring.

A generation ago, the idea of a major financial company moving to South End might have been implausible – and building a luxury apartment tower in the midst of Ballantyne Corporate Park would have sounded even more outlandish. But a pair of recent announcements in Charlotte show how much office and apartment markets have shifted, […]

Charlotte looks ahead two decades to plan growth

In the midst of a torrent of growth, new residents and construction, Charlotte’s planning director is hoping the city can find a comprehensive vision for what it should look like in two decades. Taiwo Jaiyeoba is leading the Charlotte Future 2040 comprehensive planning effort. It’s an ambitious project with the goal of creating the city’s […]

Here’s what Charlotte really, really needs from its 2040 plan

What does Charlotte really, really need from its 2040 comprehensive plan? That’s what we asked a dozen community leaders from different walks of life: Architects and planners, developers and brokers, activists and academics. The Charlotte Future 2040 plan is meant to be, well, comprehensive, covering everything from growth, new construction and zoning regulations to parks, […]