Articles

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Takeaways from Schul 2024
   March 28, 2024
Asha Ellison

You may speak to someone in passing; maybe share a greeting while purchasing a cup of coffee or have a brief exchange while checking out at the grocery store. You may even share a ride on the Light Rail, attend the same religious retreat with your respective churches, cheer together in the supporters section at a Charlotte FC match, or approach a public art installation in Uptown with the same...

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Meeting the Needs of the West Sugar Creek Corridor
   March 28, 2024
Mae Israel

Fifty years ago, Odell Witherspoon moved into northeast Charlotte’s Hidden Valley neighborhood, attracted by the nice houses and large backyards. “It was,” he said, “a destination neighborhood, an ideal neighborhood.” But that legacy is eroding, and Witherspoon is trying to protect it.

Seven years ago, after leaving the Dominican Republic and living in France for a while,...

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Moving to Charlotte? Here’s the best moving tool
   March 28, 2024

Moving can be stressful, especially when you’re heading to a new city.

Finding a place to live, when you don’t know the lay of the land, where to find preferred amenities, or may not know anyone in your new home town, is doubly so. With hundreds of homes for sale, and thousands of apartment listings, where do you even start? Once you’ve settled on your price point, and found a few...

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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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