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...
Read moreFifty 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,...
Read moreMoving 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...
Read moreLast December, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, along with the Lake Norman Economic Development Corporation, released the 2023 North Mecklenburg Housing Needs...
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(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,...
Read moreOn 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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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...
Read moreThe 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...
Read moreI 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...