Articles About Social Well-being
The City of Salisbury has had great success as a community in preserving its past. These photos highlight some examples of the many treasures in its commercial center and historic neighborhoods. Read related article on this site. Photographs by Nancy Pierce
Sow Much Good, a local community organization dedicated to empowering residents to improve their health through better nutrition, has created an outdoor classroom and garden at Ashley Park Elementary in Charlotte. Supported through local corporate groups including Wells Fargo, Sow Much Good’s founder, Robin Emmons has worked with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) to create a […]
In 2010, a UNC Charlotte research team led by Dr. Elizabeth Racine conducted a Mecklenburg County Community Food Assessment for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Food Policy Council. The results of Phase 1 of that study (posted on this website in September 2010) looked at the presence or absence of food stores in Mecklenburg’s Census Block Groups […]
Chickens are all the rage these days. All the fashionable neighborhoods have them. I recently met a gentleman who’d built a stately coop behind his home in Charlotte’s Myers Park. In Raleigh, residents flaunt their urban flocks during the annual Hen-side the Beltline Tour de Coop. I know these things because my husband has long […]
Mecklenburg County, N.C., is home to the state’s largest city, Charlotte. Most people living in Mecklenburg County today were born outside of North Carolina. U.S. Census Bureau data estimates from 2009, released earlier this fall, put that number at just over 58%. The new diversity of the county has some interesting twists. For instance, more […]
Four years ago, my sister, Amy, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment – six rounds of chemo, two surgeries and 33 sessions of radiation – took a toll on her right shoulder. Her surgeon suggested some basic exercises for strength and mobility. She also started swimming laps. She liked being buoyant in the warm […]
As a guide to the literary trivia of the Piedmont, Georgann Eubanks’ new book, Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont (UNC Press), is a gem. The book will be treasured by those who love literature and the rich tradition of homegrown and imported talent that has not only celebrated this region in words, but […]
Is it possible to build an oasis in the desert? Not the desert that brings to mind scorched earth and stretches of hot sand miles away from water and civilization. No. The question speaks to deserts that exist in urban centers across our country. Neighborhoods in the very heart of our otherwise thriving cities where […]
For both serious and casual observers of Charlotte’s economic and cultural history, a new book released in July provides a fascinating look at the effects of globalization on the city’s recent development. Published by the University of Georgia Press and edited by UNC Charlotte geography professors Bill Graves and Heather Smith, the book Charlotte, NC: […]
Efforts to construct subsidized apartment complexes in two South Charlotte neighborhoods were recently abandoned after Ballantyne and Ayresley residents raised concerns that the proposed projects would have a detrimental impact on surrounding property values by overburdening public infrastructure and increasing crime. The failure of these real estate ventures has been described by some as the […]
Twenty years ago, the downtowns in our region were believed to be destined for oblivion. Retail was leaving, if not already gone, locating along a major thoroughfare somewhere on the suburban fringe in the vicinity of the latest big box retail store, often Wal-Mart. Professional offices, if any existed at all, were shutting their doors […]
At United Way, we talk about “creating lasting change for those most in need.” Fulfilling that mission requires not just measurement of community needs, but a source of data that is sufficiently comprehensive to ensure that changes are far-reaching and can be tracked over time. Yet for many years, no such resource existed. Certainly there […]