Articles

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2024 Schul Forum Opening Comments
   February 6, 2024
Lori Thomas, Ph.D.

(In primary photo from left to right: Dr. Cheryl Curtis, JCSU; Megan Gallagher, Urban Institute (D.C.), Dr. Adriana Medina, UNC Charlotte. Photo credit: Amy Hart, UNC Charlotte University Communications.)

On Feb. 1 at our annual Schul Forum, more than 175 Charlotte residents,...

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Schul Forum 2024: Our Connecting Spaces
   February 5, 2024

On February 1, 2024 more than 175 people attended the 2024 Schul Forum: Our Connecting Spaces where we examined the spaces and places where we connect with one another: our neighborhoods, schools, houses of worship, the places where we work, play, and create.

We asked ourselves: What builds authentic relationships within them? What are the factors that prevent bonds...

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Injured Hawk Part 1
   February 5, 2024
Ruth Ann Grissom
I often joke that I live in an urban version of Mayberry. Even though my neighborhood is within walking distance of Uptown Charlotte, it has a distinctly small-town feel. We have a colorful cast of characters. Thanks in part to the front porches, small lots and sidewalks, we get to know each other. News travels fast. 
 
...
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Poverty Rates Decline in Charlotte Region
   January 12, 2024
Katie Zager

New data from the American Community Survey(ACS) shows that poverty rates have decreased in Charlotte and surrounding areas. Among the 14 counties in the region, eight (60%) saw a statistically significant decrease in poverty. The region...

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Garden Review 2023
   January 11, 2024
Ruth Ann Grissom

The mild weather we enjoyed this Christmas was a stark contrast to the extreme cold we endured around the holidays last year. The string of lows in the single digits and teens affected my garden well into 2023.

The bitter cold came on the heels of an exceptionally warm and dry fall. I always aim to divide and transplant perennials in October, but I had to wait until the weather finally...

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Data Made Better: How data pipeline automation transforms the Quality of Life Explorer
   December 15, 2023
Kailas Venkitasubramanian, Ph.D.

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and its partners at the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Quality of Life Explorer during 2023-2024. 

How can we understand Charlotte’s urban growth more holistically? With the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Quality of Life Explorer, of course. 

With it, we can also identify the spatial and temporal...

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Changing priorities: How the neighborhood choices of out-of-town movers impacts locals
   December 15, 2023
Asha Ellison

What happens to the community needs of an existing population when out-of-town movers relocate to their city? Do they dry up like raisins in the sun? 

Not exactly, but the resources existing residents need to thrive, and the amenities they desire, could be reprioritized if they aren’t equally shared - or aligned - with those of newcomers.

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2023-2024: An Anniversary Year
   December 15, 2023
Lori Thomas, Ph.D.

December marks the midpoint in our academic and fiscal calendars at UNC Charlotte. It’s a time when the buzz of the holiday season adds a layer of exams, grading, and graduation. And just as quickly, faculty and staff on campus begin preparing for the semester to come, the remainder of the academic year. Sometimes it’s almost imperceptible, but a pause is there as the university closes down...

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Recommended Reads of 2023
   December 15, 2023
Ruth Ann Grissom

I always scan those year-end “best of” lists for new reading material. In that spirit, I’d like to share the books I’ve read this past year related to nature and the environment. The books appear roughly in the order I read them, not in any order of preference.

Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb
This is...

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