Martin Zimmerman

Biography

Martin is a planner, architect, urban journalist and principal of City Wise Studio USA, an urban research and communications firm. He writes about sustainable cities and livable neighborhoodsand he travels frequently to communities in the USA, Canada and abroad in search of innovative models for Charlotte.  His articles and reviews have appeared locally in the Charlotte Observer and Axios / Charlotte Agenda.com, and nationally in Urban Land.orgAPA Planning, National Building Museum's Blueprints Journal, ASLA DIRT.org, Architectural Record, Washington TimesAtlanta Journal-Constitution, and other print and on-line media. As the first architect to lead the Office of Facilities Planning for the Charlotte campus of the University of North Carolina (1992-2001), Martin and his team created campus-wide design guidelines, updated the master plan, and launched corridor studies for light rail transit link to Center City Charlotte. As ED for the Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance (2003-2012), he campaigned successfully to redirect the arc of Charlotte's auto-centric travel culture. His vehicle of choice has two wheels and a bell. He can be reached at martin@citywisestudio.us.

Stories by Martin Zimmerman

Trains, buses and people: More lessons for Charlotte

In his recent book, Trains, Buses, People – An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit, Christof Spieler dispenses a refreshly forthright  assessment of 47 of America’s larger systems, including Miami,...

Book review: Can we fix our struggling bus systems?

There’s been a lot of discussion lately within transit planning circles about how to attract customers to ailing regional bus networks that connect core cities, nearby towns, and far-flung suburbs —...

(Almost) everything you ever wanted to know about TOD but were afraid to ask

Since City Council approved TOD Article 15 - the new Transit-Oriented Development ordinance - last April, land use consultants, architects, real estate attorneys and other insiders have had ample...

Charlotte’s parking deck identity crisis: Can a deck be ‘green’?

What with Lyft, Uber, dockless bike-share and electric scooters, urban travel is changing. Even the basic notion of a parking deck now gets more scrutiny. Commentary.

Energy action plan for Charlotte inches ahead

Charlotte first adopted a greenhouse gas emission reduction resolution in 2007.  Now, 11 years later, the City Council is considering a new resolution to move the initiative ahead.