City Walks-Janes Walks

FIND INFORMATION HERE ABOUT MAY 2017 CITY WALKS NEW: GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR IDEAS YOU COME UP WITH ON A CITY WALK Get to know your neighbors and discover neighborhood stories by leading or taking part in a City Walk. City Walks are a series of free neighborhood walks—walking conversations—that put people in touch with their […]

To be truly walkable, a neighborhood needs more than sidewalks and safe street crossings. Those are important, but an often overlooked factor is whether it has places to walk to, such as stores, coffee shops, schools and parks. An event this weekend called Walk Your Neighborhood aims to show residents of six neighborhoods that—perhaps surprisingly […]

[highlightrule] “We mourn the small stores lost and the neighborhood neutered, even as we recognize that cities depend for their future on new ways of selling and buying and living. Cities often produce whatever the next wave of social change is going to be, and then violently reject it for altering the nature of the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Every neighborhood has a story, but often the people who live there don’t know what they are or where to find them. Does it have a special landmark that ought to be preserved? What about an interesting history? Maybe it has environmental treasures or distinctive architectural features. Materials from workshops available online. Click here to […]