Articles

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Report: 2022 Matthews Housing Needs Assessment

On February 27, 2023, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and Town of Matthews shared findings from the 2022 Matthews Housing Needs Assessment. The study report includes findings about demographics, housing, land use, and key informant perspectives related to Matthews’ housing. The report also offers...

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Connecting for Stability: Understanding The Relatives and the Young People They Serve
   February 22, 2023
Jenny Hutchison, Ph.D., Sydney Idzikowski
Trish Hobson, Executive Director - The Relatives

As a community, we often talk about the young people who are the “most vulnerable” or who are at “high risk.” Admittedly, we don’t always know who exactly those young people are and what their experiences have been. And far too often, those labels become the only story we associate with them. We don’t always know how to...

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Building a rideshare company from scratch
   February 17, 2023

Lindsey Banks, Charlotte Ledger

Kimberly Evans grew up with the warning “stranger danger,” so when rideshare services like Uber and Lyft came into the picture, Evans was hesitant to use them.  

Then, on March 29, 2019, Samantha Josephson, a 21-year-old student at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, ordered an Uber and mistakenly entered the wrong car. She was ...

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Rediscovering our region on a motorcycle
   February 10, 2023
Kailas Venkitasubramanian, Ph.D.

At the end of last autumn, I set out to rediscover our evolving metropolis with a bit of caffeine.

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Will companies pay millions for naming rights by Charlotte’s bus station?
   February 10, 2023

Steve Harrison, WFAE

Would you spend $750,000 to put your name on Charlotte's new uptown bus station?

A consultant told a City Council committee this week that he expects a company would buy the naming rights to the new facility, scheduled to open by the end of the decade.

Sean Moran with the Innovative Partnership Group said the city could make a...

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Preventing Violence in Our Community
   February 9, 2023
Rachel Jackson-Gordon, Ph.D.

The Philadelphia Eagles Have the Right Idea: Preventing Violence in Our Community

In January, the Philadelphia Eagles launched a ...

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Transit talks feel like 'Groundhog Day'
   February 8, 2023

Ely Portillo, WFAE and Tony Mecia, Charlotte Ledger

In honor of (last week’s) Groundhog Day, and to mark the city’s transit discussion that keeps circling back to the same core points, we’ve compiled a list of the recurring questions that just keep poking their head out of the hole. ...

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Small Tweaks and Large Shifts in 2023
   January 27, 2023
Lori Thomas, Ph.D.

We are now four weeks into the new year and already past the expiration date of many resolutions. Effective cultural and economic programming normalizes January as a season of change and improvement, as if the other 11 months of the year are not as suitable for such reflection and action.  

As this season of self improvement wanes, however, we are asking you to focus some of your...

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A Winter Hike on the Blue Ridge Parkway
   January 26, 2023
Ruth Ann Grissom

Over the years, my husband and I have hiked many trails near the Blue Ridge Parkway –...

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