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N.C. tax plans: The details
   May 16, 2013

Benjamin Russo

Below are more specific details about the differing tax-restructuring proposals from two N.C. senators. Neither proposal is likely to be adopted exactly as presented, because amendments and changes are likely as the measures move through will the N.C. General Assembly.

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A walk in the woods
   May 15, 2013
Crystal Cockman
Have you ever wondered what you might see if you spent a whole weekend outside just looking? How about if you could also bring a few expert field biologists and naturalists with you? (Photo: Courtesy of the LandTrust for Central North Carolina) Read more
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Can Charlotte growth policies get smarter?
   May 8, 2013
Mary Newsom
  • How can the city of Charlotte boost both the value of its neighborhoods and their quality of life?
  • What national trends should developers, planners and neighborhood residents be aware of?
  • How do different development patterns affect the need for city spending?

Those questions and more will be part of the discussion at a public lecture Tuesday, sponsored by...

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Metro changes affect Charlotte and regions across the country
   May 2, 2013

Changes to how metropolitan areas are defined added nearly a half-million people to Charlotte’s MSA, making it the 23rd most populous in the country. How did the changes affect Charlotte's peer metro areas such as Atlanta (pictured)? (Photo: dbking, used under CC-BY-2.0) Read more
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A snake that comes in many colors
   May 1, 2013
Crystal Cockman
A friend of mine recently rescued a snake from the parking lot where he works, and released it back into the woods. He sent me a picture asking for help identifying it. The coloration threw me off a bit, so I had to ask an expert. (Photo: Crystal Cockman) Read more
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Resilience: Many cities, many meanings
   April 29, 2013
Mary Newsom
A resilient city can thrive amid challenges and survive disasters like earthquakes, rising sea levels and economic depression. But unlike so-called legacy cities, for a city like Charlotte the challenge has more to do with the future than the past. (Photo: Nancy Pierce) Read more
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Carolina metros: Changes in the landscape
   April 25, 2013

In the Carolinas, only Charlotte’s metro area tops 2 million people. Raleigh is roughly half that size, 1.2 million. No other Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the Carolinas top 1 million in population. But some of that is because the Triangle is not one MSA, nor is the Triad. (Bing Maps image shows the Carolinas without political boundaries.) Read more
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Appreciating an unsung N.C. pine
   April 25, 2013
Ruth Ann Grissom
In 1963, the General Assembly boldly proclaimed the official state tree of North Carolina would be – drum roll, please – the pine. The legislature missed the opportunity to herald an unsung hero that occurs in every region of our state – the noble shortleaf pine. (Photo: Ruth Ann Grissom) Read more
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Contest-winning photos evoke sense of place
   April 24, 2013
Mary Newsom
A moody night-time shot of a more than 200-year-old house outside Huntersville, and a sliver of a moon over uptown Charlotte. Those photos, by Kevin J. Beaty, were what cinched top honors in PlanCharlotte.org's one-year anniversary photo contest. (Photo: Kevin J. Beaty) Read more
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Explore CMS data at the school level
   April 18, 2013

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute has partnered with MeckEd to provide a series of interactive maps that allow the public to do their own exploration of CMS schools. Those maps have now been combined into a new interface that creates an integrated school data resource.  (Graphic: Zach Szczepaniak) Read more