South End: From mills to millennials

Imagine it’s 2030 and Charlotte’s popular South End has grown up like other neighborhoods in an increasingly urban and transit-friendly city. What does this area, just on the outskirts of uptown’s skyscrapers, look like? And most importantly, who is living there?

Hackberry trees are worth another look

Day by day, hour by hour, trees are dropping their leaves, allowing us to appreciate their architectural structure.  While growing conditions can shape a tree’s form – a white oak’s limbs will be truncated in a crowded forest, but in the middle of a pasture, they’ll sprawl – each species also has its own inherent traits.

Schuls’ gift establishes Forum Series

A major gift to the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute from the institute’s first director, Dr. Norm Schul, and his wife, Marianne ‘73, will establish an annual speaker series focused on policy issues affecting the Charlotte region.

Charlotte homes in on new Eastland Mall project

In recent years, many residents in east Charlotte grew weary and frustrated with the city’s unsuccessful efforts to attract a showpiece development to replace the once-popular Eastland Mall.

A storm shelter for caterpillars

Monarch butterflies generally start arriving in the Uwharries in May.  Their timing seems to coincide with the flowering of the common milkweed in our grasslands. 

Mary Newsom retiring as Director of Urban Policy Initiatives

When Mary Newsom retired as the institute’s Director of Urban Policy Initiatives on October 1, not only did the institute lose a trusted and respected colleague of seven years, but the Charlotte region lost one of its most important journalistic voices for quality planning, urban design and the value of public engagement to inform public policy.

Thoughts on a journey through small-town America

Authors James and Deborah Fallows, who’ll appear in Charlotte on Nov. 13, talk about their travels through America and what they discovered about civic revitalization.

Register: Institute hosts James and Deborah Fallows on Nov. 13

On Nov. 13, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute hosts an evening of discussion with authors James and Deborah Fallows, authors of “Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America.”

Institute’s new director of research discusses housing the chronically homeless

Talking with Lori Thomas, the new director of research and faculty engagement at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and interim director of ISC. Thomas studies housing and chronic homelessness.

Charlotte’s parking deck identity crisis: Can a deck be ‘green’?

What with Lyft, Uber, dockless bike-share and electric scooters, urban travel is changing. Even the basic notion of a parking deck now gets more scrutiny. Commentary.