ECONOMY

The third quarter 2012 Charlotte Business Confidence Index report, released July 2, shows Mecklenburg County business leaders’ optimism about economic prospects declined compared to their expectations for the second quarter of 2012. The overall index value of 55.4, a decrease of 3.4 points compared to the second quarter, remains positive on business confidence overall, with […]

In this period of high unemployment, not everyone has suffered equally. Two populations of particular concern are veterans and youth. Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont provides services to both of these populations and is a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable populations in the Charlotte region. The agency is continuing its innovation and […]

The second quarter 2012 Charlotte Business Confidence Index report, released April 2, shows Mecklenburg County business leaders’ optimism about economic prospects in the second quarter improved compared to their expectations for the first quarter 2012. The overall index value of 58.8, an increase of 4.2 points compared to the first quarter, continues an upswing of […]

Smart cities around the world use two secret weapons to form leadership and stay ahead of the pack in planning and economic development. One mechanism is internal, an informal, diverse but cohesive planning elite. Another is external, an outward-looking and systematic search for new knowledge, often by visiting other cities. I use “planning” in a […]

Around the Charlotte region, many downtowns share similar histories: A long-ago heyday followed by decay as dollars and foot traffic flowed to suburban malls and interstate eateries. A growing list of those places, however, are fighting back, seeking to revive their economies and preserve their histories by joining North Carolina’s Main Street and Small Town […]

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute now has office space in the university’s Center City Building. Although the institute will continue to be headquartered on the main campus, several staff members and institute Director Jeff Michael are now regularly spending some time each week in the uptown facility. The Center City Building offers the institute new […]

It is commonly expected that consolidating Charlotte and Mecklenburg County will result in less government fragmentation, fewer elected officials and lower the cost of service provision. It very well may, but citizens should know that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to city-county consolidation. And some of the commonly held beliefs about consolidation may not, […]

Local business leaders’ expectations for the upcoming quarter have dipped into negative territory for the first time since March, when a new opinion survey began. Not only is their outlook negative for the national economy – as it was after the second quarter – but they’re feeling grimmer about the local economy as well. The […]

In Garrison Keillor’s mythical hometown of Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average. In terms of where the college-educated live, there are a few Lake Wobegons, and then there is everywhere else. In North Carolina, the state’s top two cities, with their higher concentrations of college-educated residents and their population heft, boost the state’s […]

Ten years after the events of 9/11, if we want to assess how well we have learned about the threat of terrorism we need to look back. But we also need to look at our world today, to see how well our learning curve compares with those planning and carrying out terrorist events. And we […]