Social Well-Being

In January 2017, 400 Charlotteans responded to a 15-minute phone survey. The survey was representative of the Mecklenburg County population and, among other questions, asked respondents, “When thinking about Mecklenburg County as a place to live and the opportunities and amenities it provides, how would you rate Mecklenburg County for the following groups of people?” […]

[highlightrule] Thousands of people are evicted in Mecklenburg County each year. Some find new homes, but many turn to couch-surfing, or motels or shelters, caught in a cycle of rising rents, stagnant wages and the cascading effects eviction can have on a family’s financial well-being.[/highlightrule] A pink backpack lies on the sofa. Leaning on a […]

With community discussion and research ongoing around the problem of a lack of economic mobility in Charlotte, a Sept. 27 public lecture by Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer-winning author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, drew such demand that the free public tickets were snapped up in less than 24 hours. Desmond will speak […]

Matthew Desmond, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, is speaking in Charlotte at a free public lecture at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square. As of Aug. 18, no more general admission seats are available, but a waiting list is created and is being […]

[highlightrule]The annual Point-in-Time Count finds that since 2010, the number of permanent housing beds has increased and overall homelessness has decreased.[/highlightrule] Click image to download PDF version of the report. Even while Mecklenburg County’s population has grown, a yearly count since 2010 has found declining numbers of people who were experiencing homelessness during a one-night […]

Because today is worldwide GIS Day, we’re highlighting a recent map from one of our researchers showing poverty rates in Mecklenburg County by census tract. Researcher Zach Szczepaniak collected poverty data from the 2014 data in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey – the most recent available for this level of detail. The map shows […]

[highlightrule]What’s going on in our nation? Why? And what should we do about it?[/highlightrule] What’s going on in our nation? Though most of our systems aspire to fairness, people of color consistently experience disparate outcomes, compared to Whites. Racial disproportionality occurs across all systems – education, child welfare, health care, housing, employment, banking and finance […]

For many decades, the complex and difficult challenges of housing low-income Charlotteans have been the source of local studies, public debate, public policy formation and a variety of actions. This short paper is intended to trace the evolution of the challenges in Charlotte and the responses to them, with an eye toward the future for […]

A year-long study examining the needs of Mecklenburg County’s elderly population found that the county’s approach to older adults should focus on stronger and longer-term planning supported by more vigorous collaboration among service providers. Among the most pressing issues facing older adults, the study found, are access to transportation services, housing choices, caregiving support and […]

The first recipient of a faculty research grant from the Institute for Social Capital, Inc. (ISC) will be Dr. Mason Haber, assistant professor in the UNC Charlotte Department of Psychology. The ISC this fall announced the creation of its first ISC Faculty Research Grant. The purpose of the grant is to provide funding to UNC […]