Government

Residents wait to see if they can stay in fast-changing South End

Debbie Williams grew up in Charlotte’s Brookhill Village, a neighborhood of one-story duplex and triplex apartments built for black families in the 1950s. She has watched while its owners let the buildings deteriorate as luxury apartments began rising nearby. Two decades ago, she moved away. But her mother and sister remained in the low-rent housing […]

The racial wealth gap: Business ownership & entrepreneurship

We recognize the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are connected to the same systemic and institutional racism that created and sustains the racial wealth gap. We recognize that addressing racial violence and the racial wealth gap is dependent on systemic and structural solutions rather than the individual solutions that have placed […]

How jobs contribute to the racial wealth gap

This is the fourth in an ongoing series, based on a report by the Urban Institute. The report was compiled with support from Bank of America, ​which partners with the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the Institute for Social Capital on research that provides insight into community initiatives. Join us Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on […]

Home ownership and the legacy of redlining: Charlotte’s racial wealth gap

This is the third in an ongoing series, based on a report by the Urban Institute. The report was compiled with support from Bank of America, ​which partners with the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the Institute for Social Capital on research that provides insight into community initiatives. Join us Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on […]

Eating healthy in a food desert: Mecklenburg leaders seek new solutions

Mecklenburg County leaders are trying to find solutions for a worsening food crisis in the county’s poorest neighborhoods. Nearly 15 percent of the county’s population lives in what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls food deserts — low-income communities where most residents don’t have access to a full-service grocery store or supermarket carrying nutritious food. […]

Do youth end up in the justice system because they disengage from school?

Are youth who are disengaged from school more likely to enter the juvenile justice system – and does this vary for youth of different races and ethnicities? That was the question UNC Charlotte professor Dr. Susan McCarter set out to answer. Using data from the Institute for Social Capital, an integrated data system that’s part […]

Towns fear loss of government offices will sap downtown vitality

Envision a small town Main Street, and a town hall or courthouse square probably comes to mind. But in the Charlotte region, that image may need updating. Several local governments around the N.C. Piedmont are considering moving offices out of older downtown buildings to outlying areas with underused retail and office space. Those proposals worry […]