David Walters, on N.C. planning challenges

We asked UNC Charlotte professor David Walters, who is retiring, what three major planning breakthroughs would he want to see made in North Carolina?

1. “I’d work my first miracle at home. For Charlotte we would have a funded transit system with the associated private development, the tens of thousands of homes and new jobs.”
2. “I’d refashion the Research Triangle Park … so it would continue to compete. … The new master plan is essentially the same plane we [The Lawrence Group] did in 2002.”
3. “Miracle No. 3 would be to create sustainable settlement patterns for the North Carolina Coast. To follow science and find the balance between the beauty of nature and the danger of nature. … Essentially you just have to give up parts of the coast. Nature’s going to take it away from you anyway. We can so easily destroy what we say we love.”

Read more about David Walters retirement here: “David Walters, a voice for urbanism, retires from teaching”