Public Policy

The Charlotte region is not building enough new housing. That reality helps explain why the people of greater Charlotte confront a growing affordability challenge. According to Canopy Realtor Association, the average sales price in the Charlotte region was $417,430 in January 2023, up nearly $150,000 from an average sales price of $268,271 in January 2019—a […]

Violence impacts all of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, but the toll doesn’t fall equally across members of our community. There are pronounced disparities along racial lines. A new, data-focused learning community will help local leaders across sectors find collaborative solutions to prevent and address violence in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Housed at the University of Pennsylvania, Actionable Intelligence […]

TALKING POLICY IN THE QUEEN CITY FOURTH ANNUAL TALKING POLICY IN THE QUEEN CITY Friday, February 11, 2022 A Virtual Event, Free and Open to the Public The Fourth Annual Talking Policy in the Queen City event will mark the 20th anniversary of UNC Charlotte’s Public Policy Doctoral Program. Public policy experts will converse about […]

This story is part of the Transit Time newsletter, a partnership between the Urban Institute, the Charlotte Ledger and WFAE. Find out more and subscribe here. For six months, commuters and residents near Central Avenue in east Charlotte faced an unfamiliar sight: “BUS ONLY” emblazoned on one general-purpose lane in each direction, in the city’s […]

Housing First Charlotte-Mecklenburg (HFCM) was launched in 2015 to end chronic homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg by scaling housing first, particularly the housing first permanent supportive housing model. Housing first programs prioritize housing as an early step in service delivery, have low-barrier admissions policies, maximize client choice in housing and services, use a harm reduction approach to […]

COVID-19 has had an immediate and potentially lasting impact on the housing stability of low-income renters in Charlotte and the nation. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced a federal eviction moratorium through the end of 2020, missed rent is not being forgiven. Renters need assistance to avoid often insurmountable back rents […]

Driving down South Boulevard or Central Avenue, it’s easy to see the influence of Hispanic and Latino communities in the shops, taquerias and lavanderias that line both roads. It is perhaps an updated version of the historical image of immigration to the United States, not one of tightly packed tenements and ethnic enclaves in the […]

As much of our work, learning and lives move online following the stay-in-place policies to control the coronavirus pandemic, the inequity of the digital divide for low-income and rural households here and around the country is now more visible. Like most states in the country, North Carolina has poor broadband (or high-speed internet) outside of […]

A steady rain of giggles falls on a busy street in uptown Charlotte. A neat row of seesaws undulate back and forth, bright LED strips highlighting their movement, as elated, carefree riders push off. The smell of food trucks serving eager patrons wafts through the air. Parents watch, relaxed, knowing they don’t have to pull […]

There’s a growing consensus that if we want to get out of the housing affordability mess we’re in, we need to hear a lot more swinging hammers. While local governments, including in Charlotte, have raised more money to subsidize affordable apartments and low-income rent payments, the scale of the problem is daunting. Mecklenburg County is […]