Neighborhood design expert speaks at UNC Charlotte

January 8, 2014
Categories: General News Tags: Bicycling, GET INVOLVED, Neighborhood, PLANNING, Transit, TRANSPORTATION, Urban Design

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 event is at 5:30 p.m. at the UNC Charlotte building at Ninth and Brevard streets. Registration is requested, but not required. To register, click here.

Campoli’s book (See “Is there a ‘right’ density? One expert says no”) highlights her analysis of what she considers 12 of the most walkable neighborhoods in the United States and Canada, based on four years of travels and observations. Her message: Housing density has a role, but only when considered along with other important neighborhood characteristics. She lists “the five Ds and a P”: diversity, density, design, distance to transit and destination accessibility, along with parking. Parking policies and requirements can encourage or discourage automobile use, Campoli writes.

Made for Walking was published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

The Transportation Choices Alliance is a project spearheaded by the nonprofit group, Sustain Charlotte. The alliance says its mission is to increase transportation choices and their use throughout the Charlotte region, to improve traffic, air quality, public health, mobility and the economy. According to a written statement from the alliance, its goals include:

  • Play a critical role in creating a more easy-to-use, affordable and sustainable transportation system in the Charlotte region.
  • Represent community interests, educate decision-makers and the public, and have an effect on transportation funding.
  • See to it that the region’s 2030 Transit Plan is carried out, as well as plans for improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

For background, see “New effort would boost transportation choices.”

Sponsors of Thursday’s event are:

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, the UNC Charlotte Master of Urban Design program, the Urban Land Institute, Sustain Charlotte, AIA Charlotte, Civic by Design, Centralina Council of Governments, AARP, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department, North End Partners, Charlotte Center City Partners, Sierra Club Central Piedmont Group, Clean Air Carolina, Land Design LLC, Neighboring Concepts LLC, ColeJenest & Stone, Charlotte Department of Transportation, CATS, Grubb Properties and Shook Kelley, architects.