General News
Housing Policies and Ice Cream
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. If you are like me and most other people, you like ice cream—a food that almost perfectly matches our brains’ evolved desire for sweet, fatty, calorie-rich foods. So what policies should we adopt regarding ice cream—should we subsidize it? Should we mandate certain minimum amounts […]
Consultant’s report suggests changes in governance, budgeting, transparency
The Charlotte Area Transit System’s governance and organizational structure need a major overhaul, according to a consultant hired to review the city’s transit agency. That consultant, Management Partners, found that CATS has unclear goals, departments that compete instead of cooperate, and a lack of transparency about its budget. The agency’s overall governance structure, which includes […]
A look back on a year that left us more or less where we started, and trying to guess where we’ll go from here
As 2022 drew to a close, Charlotte’s transit ambitions appeared to be pretty much where they started the year: in limbo. There’s been progress on some of the incremental question marks about how we get from here to there. The route for the planned Silver Line is coming into focus, some express bus routes canceled […]
A Vegetable Garden Diary
In the vegetable garden, every season presents its own set of challenges. In May 2022, I made this pithy entry in my garden journal – too hot, too cold, too dry. After a spell of record-breaking warmth in late December last year, we got snow and ice on three consecutive weekends in January. My celery […]
Transit Time: City Council committee backs light rail route around uptown’s northern edge
When cities apply for federal funding for new transit projects, ridership is perhaps the most important criteria. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) wants to know: How much will a new rail line cost, and how many people will ride it? The Charlotte Area Transit System knows what the feds want, having built three major rail […]
Are America’s Neighborhoods Frozen?
‘Tis the season for holiday movies. We can choose a variety of films–comedies, dramas, even horror–but regardless of whether we’re watching an old classic or a new release, Hollywood tends to stick to a standard script when it comes to depicting the ideal home. Almost always, the characters live in (or aspire to live in) […]
The Chrysanthemum Chronicles
My front yard in Charlotte was a blank slate. I had lofty aims – a garden of native grasses and perennials that were appealing to the human eye as well as birds and pollinators. A dear friend offered me several pass-along plants, including a clump of apricot chrysanthemums. Even though this fall-blooming perennial has long […]
Affordable City: Strategies for Putting Housing Within Reach (and Keeping It There)
In September 2022, the median home sales price in the Charlotte region was $380,000, according to the Canopy Realtor Association. And a search on Rent.com for Charlotte rentals listed for $1,000 or less per month resulted in only 46 properties of 1,769 total (or 2.6%). Our region has a growing housing affordability problem. Unfortunately, the […]
Transit Time: Can an app make Charlotte’s streets safer?
Three voices blared simultaneously through my car’s speakers Monday morning in South End: One was my GPS directing me toward Krispy Kreme. Another was Taylor Swift and her new “Midnights” album. The third was the City of Charlotte’s new TravelSafely app. The city launched a test project a week ago through the Glance TravelSafely app […]
Does development mean displacement? Four Takeaways from the 2022 Schul Forum
Does development mean displacement? Four Takeaways from the 2022 Schul Forum At the recent 2022 Schul Forum, we examined development and displacement with the help of our keynote speaker, Dr. Karen Chapple, and a local panel. We also got a brief overview of data tools in our community that help us understand displacement risk and […]