ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Hoping to rebuild their downtowns, more NC cities are turning to baseball
Smaller cities and towns across North Carolina are hoping an old, familiar sound will spark new life in their downtowns: The crack of a bat. Under the blazing sun in Kannapolis last week, workers installed the highest steel beam of the city’s new ballpark. The stadium, a block from Main Street with a capacity of […]
Regional transit gets another ‘symbolic’ boost near Charlotte
There’s more momentum building for a regional transit system in and around Charlotte, this time from communities to the city’s north. Local governments in Cabarrus County recently passed resolutions in support of the Charlotte Area Transit System extending light rail across the county line for the first time. The Blue Line extension, which opened in […]
The number of farms in North Carolina is declining
“The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” President John F. Kennedy To say that agriculture is important in North Carolina would be an obvious understatement. Agriculture and agribusiness, including food, forestry, and fiber, is the number one industry […]
Charlotte is ‘on the cusp’ of its first true regional transit plan
The Charlotte region is taking concrete steps towards building a regional transit system that crosses county lines, but plenty of big questions remain. Chief among them: Who will pay? Charlotte Area Transit System planners are starting design work on the Silver Line. The new light rail will potentially run from Stallings through Matthews, around uptown […]
People assume transit causes displacement. Does it really?
It’s a familiar story: A new transit line opens, spurring gentrification in nearby neighborhoods and pushing out long-time residents. But is that always what happens? New research from Dr. Elizabeth Delmelle, Dr. Isabelle Nilsson, Dr. Claire Schuch, and Tonderai Mushipe – all from UNC Charlotte’s Department of Geography and Earth Sciences – shows that the […]
Offices in South End, apartments in Ballantyne? Lines are blurring.
A generation ago, the idea of a major financial company moving to South End might have been implausible – and building a luxury apartment tower in the midst of Ballantyne Corporate Park would have sounded even more outlandish. But a pair of recent announcements in Charlotte show how much office and apartment markets have shifted, […]
Charlotte looks ahead two decades to plan growth
In the midst of a torrent of growth, new residents and construction, Charlotte’s planning director is hoping the city can find a comprehensive vision for what it should look like in two decades. Taiwo Jaiyeoba is leading the Charlotte Future 2040 comprehensive planning effort. It’s an ambitious project with the goal of creating the city’s […]
Here’s what Charlotte really, really needs from its 2040 plan
What does Charlotte really, really need from its 2040 comprehensive plan? That’s what we asked a dozen community leaders from different walks of life: Architects and planners, developers and brokers, activists and academics. The Charlotte Future 2040 plan is meant to be, well, comprehensive, covering everything from growth, new construction and zoning regulations to parks, […]
Charlotte’s arts scene is growing – and at a crossroads
Thousands are expected to gather in Charlotte’s historic Plaza-Midwood neighborhood this weekend, attracted by bold visual art and nontraditional performances representing a diverse array of artists. The three-day BOOM festival, a self-described “movement born from a belief in the explosive power of art to unite and strengthen our community,” enters its fourth year buoyed by […]
“We are not giving ourselves credit.” Charlotte’s arts scene is growing, changing.
Charlotte’s arts scene is growing, as well as becoming more diverse and even, some say, edgy. It’s a big change in a city long known more for its financial firms than its cultural assets. But the city still lacks what many see as a dedicated arts district, and some advocates say the Charlotte arts community […]