Publications and Reports

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force identified college and career readiness as one of three determinants with the greatest influence on an individual’s ability to move up the economic ladder. In other words, to improve economic opportunity in our community, we must improve college- and career-readiness, particularly among children and youth. To do this, we first […]

The Charlotte region lags comparable areas in the robustness of its local food economy across multiple metrics, concludes the draft of a year-long study by the City of Charlotte. The report from consultants KarenKarp & Partners examines the state of farming in the metro region, the landscape of farmers markets in Charlotte, wholesale activity in […]

A little before 10 one hot morning last summer, a few men with clipboards made their way around the crowded lobby at the nonprofit Crisis Assistance Ministry. Men, women and children awaited a turn to tell their stories to agency counselors who – they hoped – could give them enough money to keep the power […]

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and Mecklenburg County Community Support Services on Wednesday, May 23, released Charlotte-Mecklenburg Evictions Part 3: One-month Snapshot of Eviction Court Records. It is the final report in a series describing and providing local context to evictions in Mecklenburg County. To read the full report and access Mecklenburg County’s toolkit on […]

A new report from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute presents research on family homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Family homelessness is complicated, can result in negative impacts on educational outcomes for students and requires custom interventions based on each family’s unique needs. The report, released March 2, presents national research on factors associated with family homelessness, the […]

To download full report, click on image above What are other communities doing to address the need to develop affordable housing in their communities? A new report from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, released Wednesday, presents 12 strategies other cities are using to develop affordable housing, with a focus on the financial feasibility of developing […]

Matthew Desmond has authored a scrupulously researched, stimulating and compelling book that should be of interest to everyone in the apartment industry, every low-income housing advocate, any student of American neighborhoods and every public official. Examinations of urban poverty are nothing new, but this study of the causes and consequences of evictions on families, housing […]

Almost half the Mecklenburg County households who rent are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing costs. One significant contributing factor is that from 2008 to 2013, the median gross rent in the county increased 2 percent, while median family income decreased by 12 percent. Those are two […]

Research by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute for United Way of Central Carolinas has found that almost 90 percent of at-risk Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students who took part in programs from 14 local United Way-funded agencies over three or more years graduated from high school. The research also found that at-risk students served by UWCC-funded agencies […]

Research by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute for United Way of Central Carolinas has found that almost 90 percent of at-risk Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students who took part in programs from 14 local United Way-funded agencies over three or more years graduated from high school. The research also found that at-risk students served by UWCC-funded agencies […]