City Walks-Janes Walks

What’s on our city’s wish list? See some gifts for Charlotte

It’s hard shopping for the city that has it all: Gleaming office towers, a new-ish light rail line, a booming population and one of the world’s busiest airports. But that doesn’t mean Charlotte couldn’t still use a few gifts this holiday season. After all, despite the city’s obvious and explosive growth, there are still plenty […]

Part 4: Connecting urban policy to the community

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute is marking its 50th anniversary in 2019-20 with a five-part series recalling its history. Sources for these stories include interviews, newspaper articles, university documents and two books – Charlotte and UNC Charlotte: Growing Up Together by Ken Sanford and Dean W. Colvard: Quiet Leader, by Marion A. Ellis. UNC Charlotte […]

Mapping out Charlotte’s future: Streets plan accounts for more than cars

Charlotte planners are trying to change the city’s decades-long focus on building streets solely for cars with an effort to map and plan for future bicycle lanes, expanded sidewalks and more accommodations for alternative ways of getting around like scooters. The first phase of that effort — mapping and planning for the streets along the […]

Musicians at the Bluegrass & Old-Time Jam Session on the square in Shelby, playing in front of the Earl Scruggs Center. Photo: Nancy Pierce.

Finding the Music, Part 2: ‘We needed to do something bold’

This is the second part in a three-part series. Read Part 1: Turning to musical heritage to fuel the future to catch up on the story. You can find Part 3: ‘A 38-year overnight success story’ online as well. What happened in Shelby played out across the Carolinas, where textiles were once the driver of […]

2020: Four plans coming together next year will guide growth for a generation

Next year’s news cycle is already looking pretty crowded, between big-ticket events like the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, the summer Olympics in Tokyo and, of course, the 2020 presidential, gubernatorial and congressional elections. But if there weren’t so much else going on, 2020 might be known as something else in Charlotte: The Year of […]

Review: In ‘A Delicious Country,’ an author rediscovers the Carolinas

Author Scott Huler will be interviewed on the “Charlotte Readers” live podcast at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 27, at the Charlotte Museum of History. The event is free and open to the public. More information is available here. Earlier that day, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., the museum will host a free symposium showcasing research by museum […]

Rendering of "Ballantyne Reimagined," the planned redevelopment of Ballantyne Corporate Park to add shops, restaurants, apartments and amenities to the office park. Rendering: Northwood Office.

From Ballantyne to SouthPark to University City, the suburbs want to be more like the city

It’s happening across Charlotte: Apartments, office buildings and restaurants are popping up in parking lots, as dense, mixed-use developments, connected by bicycle paths and walking trails, invade suburbia. Within the past month, major plans have been announced for densifying and transforming chunks of Ballantyne, SouthPark and University City – three of the biggest bastions of […]

People explore UNC Charlotte's greenhouse. Photo: Elaine Jacobs.

Exploring Charlotte with the 2019 City Walks

Charlotte City Walks 2019 wrapped up after a record-setting year, with 40 walks and more than 600 attendees. The programs explored food, history, art, murals, the lived experiences of being blind or homeless in Charlotte, tree canopy and more.

Charlotte City Walks wraps up a record-setting year

Bilingual food tours, immersive experiences of Charlotte as a visually impaired or homeless person, strolls through cemeteries, public art and mural exlporations, visits to historic neighborhoods and connections with new people: All that and more was on tap at Charlotte City Walks this year. The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute organized a record number of free […]

Is this road design a better way to move, or an outdated solution for traffic?

As Charlotte grows denser and more urban, parts of the city built decades ago on an auto-centric, suburban framework are struggling to both absorb more traffic and adapt to new beliefs about how people should get around. A one-mile stretch of congested road in fast-growing University City illustrates the tensions between balancing the needs of […]