General News
Where are the real opportunities in the ‘Opportunity’ act?
Early in my career as a teacher and principal, I learned I should make all of my decisions based on what was in the best interest of the children we served, and not necessarily what the adults wanted. I am deeply concerned that the “Opportunity Scholarship Act,” or private school voucher bill, fails to meet […]
Nest boxes for nuthatches
The brown-headed nuthatch is one of our own, a permanent resident of the Southeast. They don’t care to visit the Caribbean in winter, and they rarely stray above the Mason-Dixon Line. They make their living in our piney woods. Until recently, it was assumed they required a stand of old-growth pines, but Davidson College Professor […]
Public money for private schools? Two views
Starting with the 2014-15 academic year, North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Act will offer a $4,200 voucher to pay for low-income children in public schools to attend private schools. The legislation, which the N.C. General Assembly passed in July 2013, captures two contentious topics in the state: school choice and the idea of using public dollars […]
Foxx: Bikes, pedestrians are priority, too
U.S. Secretary of Transportation and former Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx gave urbanists and bike enthusiasts hope this week with his remarks at the Transportation Research Board, Streetsblog D.C. writer Tanya Snyder reports. Foxx, referencing increasing pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and deaths on Charlotte streets during his time as mayor, said he would “look out for […]
NCDOT letter poses dilemma for low-tax Union County towns
A North Carolina Department of Transportation letter has planners and officials in several Union County towns scrambling to figure out how they’ll maintain new subdivision streets in what has long been one of the fastest growing counties in the state. The September letter from Division 10 engineer Louis Mitchell said NCDOT would no longer accept […]
Growing greens indoors to boost local foods, job skills
Just northeast of uptown Charlotte in the Tryon Hills neighborhood, in a previously abandoned and cluttered warehouse, is Lila’s Garden. There is graffiti on the entrance, but once you step inside, you are met with a garden that appears to be from the future. Rows of leafy greens and microgreens are bathed in purple light […]
Neighborhood design expert speaks at UNC Charlotte
An expert in planning neighborhoods for walkability will speak Thursday at the UNC Charlotte uptown campus. Julie Campoli, author of Made for Walking: Neighborhood Density and Urban Form, gives a presentation at a 5:30 p.m. event that will also see the launch a new regional group focused on transportation choices, the Transportation Choices Alliance. The […]
What is this email newsletter?
Welcome to the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s weekly email newsletter. You may already be on our mailing list, but this week we’re emailing a wider group of regional thought leaders and policymakers. We hope you’ll enjoy articles we offer on the institute’s suite of three web publications. The institute’s main page, ui.charlotte.edu, provides articles and […]
Snowy owl invasion
As I write this article, temperatures are forecast to be in the low 70s later this week, so it’s unlikely we’ll have a white Christmas this year. While the arrival of significant winter weather is always questionable in North Carolina, an occasional white coating is not uncommon. Although you probably won’t see any snow for […]
What’s in a name? Defining ‘urban’ in the South
It’s a quirky fact about all three of the most recent directors of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute: We all came, not from large urban centers, but from small, rural communities. Jim Clay, director from 1979 to 1984, was from Crum, W.Va. Bill McCoy (director 1985-2001) hailed from Ekron, Ky. And me? My friends are […]