General News

Richard Jackson thinks it’s time to stop blaming individuals for the U.S. obesity problem. The problem, he believes, is far more systemic, including the automobile-centric design of modern American life and the ready availability of high-sugar and high-fat foods. He thinks today’s parental fears of child abductions are not realistic and hurt children’s need for […]

The yard has been tilled, the clay amended with compost and mulch. I’m eager to start a new garden at our home in Charlotte, but my first trip to the nursery left me with sticker shock. I couldn’t part with $35 for a fancy cultivar of the ubiquitous Carolina jasmine that blooms freely across the […]

ISC out and about ISC staff members Ashley Clark, Eric Caratao, and Alyssa Brown joined approximately 250 volunteers for a training session before Charlotte’s Annual Point in Time Count, an annual count of people experiencing homelessness on a given night. New data deposits ISC continues to grow its data deposits and sign new data sharing […]

Can the buildings, streets and sidewalks around you change your health? Richard J. Jackson thinks they can. Jackson, professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, has made the creation of healthier environments his life’s work. He’s the author of books including Urban Sprawl and Public Health, published in 2004, which examined the connections between […]

FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT EVENTS PLEASE CLICK HERE KEEPING WATCH on WATER: City of Creeks is a collaborative project between the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the College of Arts + Architecture. (Learn more here.) A series of related events is planned, including: Exhibit Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte Center City: March 27-June 17. […]

I’ve spent much of the past few months researching Mecklenburg County’s creeks, for a PlanCharlotte.org project called KEEPING WATCH on WATER: City of Creeks. A related gallery exhibit opened March 27 at UNC Charlotte Center City. To see a full list of events, click here, or visit KeepingWatch.org for updates. To whet your appetite for […]

FOR UP-TO-DATE EVENT INFORMATION ABOUT KEEPING WATCH, PLEASE VISIT KEEPINGWATCH.ORG What creek is in your neighborhood? Where did it come from, and where is it going? Why was Charlotte settled amid so many creeks? Are urban streams important? Where does rainwater go? Can we do anything to help with pollution or flooding? Why should we […]

Forget Jason Bourne. Forget 007. Forget The French Connection. Equally thrilling chase scenes occur every day in the forests of the Uwharries. While action films are standard fare at the multiplex, we rarely witness the dramas unfolding in our own backyard, as raptors pursue their prey. Want a ticket to a front row seat? Spend […]

Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia’s much anticipated Tactical Urbanism – Short Term Actions for Long-Term Change is due out in a few weeks. Reading the galleys brings to mind how widespread and quickly this global movement has grown, Charlotte and Raleigh being no exception. The term tactical urbanism refers to quick, often temporary projects aimed […]

I’ve long had a question about the nature of uptown Charlotte. Why do Charlotte’s uptown blocks look more like “diamonds” than “squares”? Streets in other cities (such as Raleigh, Chicago and New York, for instance) go north-south and east-west in a classic grid pattern. Charlotte’s uptown streets are also in a grid, but they lie […]