City Walks-Janes Walks

Three months ago my family and I moved into our first home. Something about buying a house makes you feel like a bona fide adult, and with that come adult decisions. When my husband and I were deciding where in the city we wanted to live, like many young families we fell into the trap […]

Two weeks ago I beamed with pride for Charlotte as U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Mayor Dan Clodfelter cut the ribbon to begin the CityLynx Gold Line streetcar service. I’ve lived in and visited cities with streetcar lines and often longed for an America where tracks once again crisscross our cities. The past can […]

At least when explorer John Lawson came through here in 1701 it was winter. Scott Huler, a Raleigh-based writer, is retracing Lawson’s route from Charleston, S.C., to Pamlico Sound, N.C., and Tuesday he hiked from Charlotte to Concord. When I picked Huler up for a midafternoon break, he had walked up North Tryon Street from […]

Since the 1990s, the NoDa neighborhood surrounding North Davidson and 36th streets in Charlotte has been branded as the city’s arts district. But in recent years the galleries that once clustered there have dwindled. Is NoDa still an arts district? Or has South End, along South Boulevard near uptown, overtaken it? Morgan Hamer, an artist […]

Tuesday was an almost perfect spring morning: cool, sun coming up and spring flowers ablaze. As I relished a morning walk about 4 miles south of uptown, I also relished something perhaps more gruesome. I gleefully squished dozens of green cankerworms that had fallen onto the street during Monday’s rain. April in Charlotte is a […]

Can the buildings, streets and sidewalks around you change your health? Richard J. Jackson thinks they can. Jackson, professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, has made the creation of healthier environments his life’s work. He’s the author of books including Urban Sprawl and Public Health, published in 2004, which examined the connections between […]

FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT EVENTS PLEASE CLICK HERE KEEPING WATCH on WATER: City of Creeks is a collaborative project between the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the College of Arts + Architecture. (Learn more here.) A series of related events is planned, including: Exhibit Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte Center City: March 27-June 17. […]

I’ve spent much of the past few months researching Mecklenburg County’s creeks, for a PlanCharlotte.org project called KEEPING WATCH on WATER: City of Creeks. A related gallery exhibit opened March 27 at UNC Charlotte Center City. To see a full list of events, click here, or visit KeepingWatch.org for updates. To whet your appetite for […]

FOR UP-TO-DATE EVENT INFORMATION ABOUT KEEPING WATCH, PLEASE VISIT KEEPINGWATCH.ORG What creek is in your neighborhood? Where did it come from, and where is it going? Why was Charlotte settled amid so many creeks? Are urban streams important? Where does rainwater go? Can we do anything to help with pollution or flooding? Why should we […]

Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia’s much anticipated Tactical Urbanism – Short Term Actions for Long-Term Change is due out in a few weeks. Reading the galleys brings to mind how widespread and quickly this global movement has grown, Charlotte and Raleigh being no exception. The term tactical urbanism refers to quick, often temporary projects aimed […]