Our most-read articles from 2015

From the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute

Can Plaza Midwood save the places that matter? 4 tools that might help

A torrent of development in some older Charlotte neighborhoods is wiping out more and more of the small, older buildings. This creates a significant, if little-recognized, problem for an entrepreneurial economy. Why is this happening, and what can be done? Commentary

— Mary Newsom

Charter, private, home school or CMS? Is enrollment shifting?

Are more Mecklenburg County parents opting for private school over public, or for charters or home schools? UNC Charlotte Urban Institute researchers looked at 20 years of enrollment choices in Mecklenburg.

— Justin T. Lane & Amy Hawn Nelson

Scholars work to dispel myths about public schools, CMS

Misperceptions about public education and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are common. Scholars Roslyn Mickelson, Stephen S. Smith and Amy Hawn Nelson have researched CMS and school desegregation for decades.

— Amy Hawn Nelson

Addressing the opportunity gap for Charlotte’s children

Large trends – income inequality, increasing economic segregation – are making it hard for people in poverty to realize the American Dream by working hard and climbing the ladder. In a Q/A interview, civic engagement expert Robert Putnam discusses the effect on children.

— Diane Gavarkavich

Whose N.C. school bus ride lasts longest? Hint: Look west

As most N.C. public school students head to school for 2015-16, some 13,000 school buses are readying to travel some 180 million miles across the state. How lengthy is the average ride in your school district? How long are the longest rides? The shortest? Our maps tell the story.

— Jody Pressley & Zach Szczepaniak

The bounce is back for Charlotte-area suburban growth

Just when many demographers were speculating that suburban growth was waning, the latest Census Bureau population estimates show a rebound. In the Charlotte region, for the first time since 2010, adjacent counties’ growth rates have leapfrogged Mecklenburg’s.

— Laura Simmons

Ever wondered … why don’t Charlotte streets run north-south?

I’ve long had a question about the nature of uptown Charlotte. Why do Charlotte’s uptown blocks look more like “diamonds” than “squares”?

— Garrett Nelson

Change is coming to South End. Don’t blame Gaines Brown

As an important block on Camden Road faces likely development, its recent history reveals a complex narrative of a once-derelict area and a man with a vision, and shows how success changes a neighborhood. Commentary.

— David Walters

Trying to answer ‘Why are all these new buildings so ugly?’

“You’re an architect! Can you tell me why all these new buildings are so ugly?” If I earned $100 each time I’ve answered that question in the last few months, I could treat my wife to a vacation in Tuscany. Commentary.

— David Walters

Charlotte arts districts face challenges, study finds

Is NoDa still Charlotte’s main arts district, or has South End overtaken it? UNC Charlotte graduate student Morgan Hamer decided to study the city’s arts clusters. What she found has important implications for the future of Charlotte’s arts neighborhoods. A Q/A interview.

— Mary Newsom

Ever wondered … what’s the oldest building in uptown Charlotte?

Compare the Charlotte skyline of 1975 with today’s, and the city is almost unrecognizable. In creating this newer city, we have destroyed much of the old. What are uptown’s oldest surviving buildings?

— Garrett Nelson

I-77 toll debate is missing the most important question

When asked whether I support the I-77 toll lane, my response is yes, but it won’t make a difference. Extra lanes will fill with more cars. We should be discussing mobility, not just highways. Commentary.

— Craig Lewis