Articles
Moving to or within Charlotte? The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Quality of Life Explorer can help you find your next home. 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 […]
By: 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 […]
How one Charlotte community is learning to navigate its changing and conflicting identities By: 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 […]
Last December, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, along with the Lake Norman Economic Development Corporation, released the 2023 North Mecklenburg Housing Needs Assessment. This was an update to a report the institute previously released in 2019. The assessment included information for the three towns that make up northern Mecklenburg County (North Mecklenburg); Cornelius, Davidson, and […]
(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, neighbors and friends, along with national and local experts, explored the implications of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 performed better than the nation as a whole, where about 36% of counties had a significant change in poverty […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]