City Walks-Janes Walks

As a planner, I’ve found most communities open to making concessions to pedestrians and cyclists in their transportation plans, a goal generally phrased as “providing transportation choices.” There’s an underlying assumption that transportation networks are for cars and trucks, and accommodating anything else is just for variety. For example, Charlotte’s Transportation Action Plan includes a […]

In the Uwharries, raptors make their presence known in late winter and early spring. A lone female northern harrier has spent the winter skimming our fields of native warm season grass. I’ve come to wonder if she’s the same one who shows up every fall, who chased away another pair of harriers who tried to […]

When you get right down to it, any city or town is built of neighborhoods – block by block and street by street. That formula is part of the magic behind the idea of Jane’s Walks, an international movement that encourages people to get out for a neighborhood walk on the first weekend in May. […]

Although the vast majority of Charlotteans (roughly 98 percent) don’t commute to work on public transportation, the opening of the Lynx Blue Line in 2007 has made a visible difference in the county’s transportation choices. But is another change afoot as well? Nationally, Americans are driving less than they used to. The Atlantic Cities website […]

Whether you want to look up data or understand an issue or trend affecting the Charlotte region, the online resources of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute are available to help you. There are also many other programs on campus that work with local groups. The institute offers articles and data on a range of issues […]

The City of Charlotte and other local organizations are offering neighborhoods opportunities to improve neighborhood tree canopies and to boost traditional neighborhood newsletters by using digital tools such as Twitter, texting and other web-based formats. Learn new digital skills at neighborhood communications workshop Charlotte community leaders and homeowners associations wanting to send neighborhood updates to […]

With encouragement from City Manager Ron Carlee, Charlotte’s planning department is taking more initiative in contacting property owners along the route of the city’s new light rail line and encouraging them to help the city achieve its vision for the corridor, Planning Director Debra Campbell told the city-county planning commission Monday. Campbell spoke during a […]

With encouragement from City Manager Ron Carlee, Charlotte’s planning department is taking more initiative in contacting property owners along the route of the city’s new light rail line and encouraging them to help the city achieve its vision for the corridor, Planning Director Debra Campbell told the city-county planning commission Monday. Campbell spoke during a […]

Want to guess the large U.S. city rated worst for walkability by Walk Score®, the national rating system? That would be the Queen City. Here’s a link to its 2014 report. The top-rated city was New York, followed by San Francisco, Boston, Washington and Miami. Essentially, Walk Score measure how many amenities are within easy […]

Baby boomers are not waiting around for someone to help them cross the street. The local organization of AARP sent out volunteers to assess how well some Charlotte intersections treat pedestrians, including those of AARP-membership age. As part of AARP Walkable Charlotte Week, about two dozen volunteers, armed with stop watches and digital cameras, evaluated […]