General News

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, in partnership with the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture, has launched KEEPING WATCH, a three-year initiative designed to bring a higher profile to, and engage the public in, issues about the natural environment. The initiative will foster collaboration across various interest groups and disciplines. An exhibit opened Friday, […]

It was a challenge thrown at the feet of the city of Charlotte in September 2008. In a package in The Charlotte Observer looking at the region’s future, writers Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson urged Charlotte and nearby cities to position themselves as a “Green, Great & Global” region.* One way to signal this aim, […]

This article is a summary of a yearlong study to be published in an edited volume printed by Harvard Educational Press in fall 2014. The study uses administrative records from the N.C. Department of Instruction and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, media reports, and in-depth interviews with parents, teachers, and administrators. In 1997, when North Carolina launched its […]

How should the Charlotte region grow over the next 50 years? It’s a complicated question, but planners from area towns and cities and the Centralina Council of Governments have been at work finding an answer. And once again, they’re looking for the public’s help. In March, the CONNECT Our Future program will hold open forums […]

We know North Carolina is filled with great places: both natural landscapes and cultural and historic treasures, from main streets to parks to neighborhoods. Here’s your chance to suggest places that deserve public recognition and celebration. The N.C. Chapter of the American Planning Association wants nominations from the public for Great Main Street and Great […]

Is there anything more diverting for a Southerner than a couple of inches of snow? The mere suggestion of the slightest chance of a flurry whips us into a frenzy. When my niece and nephew were younger, they’d flush ice cubes down the toilet then go to bed wearing their pajamas inside out and underpants […]

Where your child (or grandchild or niece) goes to school is important to you personally. How the demographics of your child’s district compare to that of other districts across the country is important to researchers, policy makers and even disaster relief planners. A program used in North Carolina should streamline the work of updating this […]

Home. The word means many different things to many different people. For some, it might be a house. For others, it might be a park bench or a tent behind a supermarket. Just as homes can take many forms, so can homelessness. I was forced to reflect on this last month, as a volunteer with […]

ISC out and about ISC Team members Diane Gavarkavich, Ashley Williams, and Selena Skorman volunteered with the Homeless Services Network to conduct the annual Point in Time Count, which seeks to count the number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless in Mecklenburg County on a given night in January. Click here to read more ISC presented […]

I’m not immune to the charms of a dozen roses on Valentine’s Day – or any day for that matter – though I’m always disheartened by those with no discernible fragrance and perfect buds that inexplicably shrivel and droop. These are not attributes one cares to associate with romance. I try to limit my purchase […]