Welcome to the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute

We are a nonpartisan, applied research and community outreach institute at UNC Charlotte, seeking solutions to the social, economic and environmental challenges facing our communities.

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Highways lead from North Carolina to South Carolina without any physical border - but there still appears to be an effect on our behavior. Photo: Nancy Pierce

A border problem? Unexpected ways the state line influences our behavior

Nov 11, 2019, Bill Graves & Katie Zager

We don’t often think about crossing state lines. Other than changes in gas prices or the availability of fireworks, there’s little visible difference as you cross from North Carolina into South Carolina, or vice versa.

But that line appears to influence our behavior, at least when it comes to how we spend leisure time. 

Read more
Richmond County extension director and extension agent Paige Burns discusses bok choy with Mandy Davis, co-director of Sandhills Farm-to-Table (in the pink hat). Photo: Nancy Pierce

Why intermediaries are key to viable local food systems

Nov 13, 2019, Chris Danis & Laura Simmons
Quadplexes built in Badin, N.C. for workers by Alcoa, which for generations was the town's major employer. The aluminum works is gone now, leaving Badin to search for a new way forward. Photo: Nancy Pierce

There’s a housing affordability crisis in rural areas, too — not just cities

Nov 12, 2019, Christa Wagner Vinson, Bill McCoy & Katie Zager
Sackda and Phoudone Naovarath, Laotian immigrants, own and operate the only restaurant in Badin, Tho Pizza & Hot Subs. The diverse menu includes fajita subs, lo mein, teriyaki and hibachi dishes, salads, double bacon cheeseburgers, Pad Thai, hush puppies, fish & chips, and pizza. Photo: Nancy Pierce

‘It would be insane’ not to value stronger urban-rural connections

Nov 06, 2019, Ely Portillo
A worker at Storm Technologies in Albemarle fabricates a component for the emissions reduction system of a power plant boiler. Photo: Nancy Pierce

The changing economic development landscape

Nov 05, 2019, Christa Wagner Vinson & Bill McCoy
Hay bales on a farm in Cleveland County. Across the greater Charlotte region, farmland is being lost quickly to development. Photo: Nancy Pierce

Farms and sprawl: Conservationists worry they’re losing the battle

Nov 05, 2019, Mae Israel
A worker loads food at the Sandhills AGInnovation Center, serving rural farmers east of Charlotte. Photo: Nancy Pierce

The urban-rural workforce connection

Nov 04, 2019, Christa Wagner Vinson, Bill McCoy and Katie Zager

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PlanCharlotte.org
Charlotte Regional Indicators

Photo gallery: Innovative agriculture connects farmers to urban centers

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