Latino

Is Mecklenburg County a welcoming place? Most people here think so, according to a survey from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. A majority of the 400 Mecklenburg County residents surveyed agreed or strongly agreed with five separate statements about Charlotte’s welcoming of people regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, immigration status or economic status. But […]

In 2000, Hispanic/Latinos accounted for only 4.71 percent of the N.C. population. By 2010 the percentage was 8.39, making the state’s rate of Hispanic growth sixth-fastest in the nation. The latest data show that trend is continuing, with the Hispanic population growing from 8.39 to 8.6 percent from 2010 to 2011.* This continuing increase in […]

The rise in the number of Hispanic, Asian and multiracial residents has been the biggest change in population diversity in the Charlotte region for more than a decade. The growth and distribution of these groups has not been even, which creates notable differences among the region’s urban, suburban and rural communities. Explore a host of […]

Tom Hanchett and I have been having this discussion – some might call it a debate – over what’s the most “urban” part of Charlotte. Hanchett, staff historian at Levine Museum of the New South, contends that the most urban corner in the city is Central Avenue at Rosehaven Drive. For weeks I have respectfully […]

Children without hope can be found in every community. Father Greg Boyle has been working on this issue for decades through Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. He spoke in Charlotte this week about Homeboy, which is recognized as the largest gang intervention program in the country. Homeboy Industries’ slogan is, “nothing stops a bullet like […]

UNC Charlotte’s Heather Smith, associate professor of geography, researches restructuring cities, immigrant settlement and adjustment, and the causes and implications of Hispanic “hyper-growth” in Charlotte and the South. She spoke recently with UNC Charlotte Urban Institute graduate student Josh McCann. Her remarks, edited for brevity and clarity: Q. You’ve said before that Charlotte is not […]

An examination of the Census 2010 data released so far provides several insights into how North Carolina’s growth compared to other states. North Carolina was the 6th fastest-growing state in the 2000s at 18.5%, putting it just between Texas and Georgia, and virtually tied with Georgia in growth since the 1990s. That level of growth […]

The needs assessment was in response to Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s emergence as what Roberto Suro and Audrey Singer of the Pew Hispanic Center and Brookings Institution termed a “Hispanic Hypergrowth Metro.” Between 1990 and 2000 Mecklenburg’s Hispanic population – as captured by the census – grew by more than 38,000 persons (from about 7,000 to 45,000). In […]

This report was undertaken for the purpose of assessing the community service needs of Mecklenburg County’s Latino residents; and from this perspective, offers recommendations to public and private service providers. Report in English: Download PDF En Espanol: Download PDF