Charlotte
Are Ride-Hailing Services Complementing or Competing with Rail Transit?
A news report on Charlotte's Lynx Blue Line looks at whether ride-hailing services are complementing rail transit by providing vital first mile-last mile service or whether customers are forgoing the transit trip entirely. Ridership has been falling.
Gender Neutral Bathrooms Designs Respond to Controversial North Carolina Law
While the Justice Department and North Carolina duke it out over proper access to bathrooms, many places, including the White House, have designed gender-neutral bathrooms that address many of the problems associated with sex-segregated bathrooms.
Battle Lines Drawn Over Density in Charlotte
The Charlotte Observer recently described the landscape of proposed apartment developments in the city of Charlotte.
Charlotte Neighborhood Faces Uncertain Future
Neighborhoods like Cherry in the fast-growing city of Charlotte are faced with intense pressures in the real estate market. The city is scrambling to craft a plan that can leverage the city's assets to the benefit of the whole city.
Introducing 8 Newly Elected Mayors
There's no doubt that cities provide important leadership on countless issues—here are eight new elected mayors tasked with providing the political leadership to make it possible.
Charlotte Grows Weary of the Bland Cookie-Cutter Apartment Buildings
Designers and architects in Charlotte, North Carolina are asking the city to raise the bar when approving new apartment buildings to prevent more of the repetitive wood-frame design that has swept the city.
Topics Planners Don't Often Think About, But Should
There are a number of areas of planning that offer planners a role, but are not necessarily at the front of our minds. At the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference, researchers shared results that can impact practice.
Plan Charlotte Survey Finds 9 Percent of the City Zoned for Mixed-Uses
Surveying the 373 square miles, or 238,720 acres, under jurisdiction of Plan Charlotte to see how much of it is zoned for mixed-use.
A Decade of Walkable Strides in Transit Innovation
A new Transit Center report shows what it takes to enact change.
What's the Value of a Half-Baked Streetcar Line?
A tough first week for the new LYNX Gold streetcar line in Charlotte inspired a review of the current research about the value of streetcars.
Charlotte Streetcar Opens Today
The 1.5-mile, $37 million segment of Charlotte's controversial new LYNX Gold streetcar line is set to open July 14. A former mayor, Anthony Foxx, is now the U.S. Transportation Secretary. A federal grant is paying 68 percent of construction costs.
Charlotte Confronts Big Asphalt
For the Charlotte Observer, Ely Portillo reports on a forum calling for urbanist reforms and doubts whether auto-loving residents will be receptive.
Charlotte Suburbs Plan for Balanced Growth
Although growth in Union County outside of Charlotte has subsided, county officials aim to balance a legacy of unplanned growth with new opportunities for commercial development and countywide transportation.
Sprawl and the 'Death of the American South'
A post by Sustainatlanta reacts to the recent study that predicted massive, sprawling growth in the South in the next 50 years. The post's concern is that sprawl will "eviscerate' the Southern lifestyle.
Modeling the Explosive Growth of the Southern Megalopolis
A new study, "The Southern Megalopolis: Using the Past to Predict the Future of Urban Sprawl in the Southeast U.S." predicts urban sprawl and warns of its possible consequences over the next 50 years.
Study: Planning Failed the Decaying Suburban Subdivision of Windy Ridge
A new study that examines the contributing and enabling factors that led to high foreclosure rates, neighborhood decline, and disparate impacts on low-income populations in the subdivision of Windy Ridge, near Charlotte, North Carolina.
(*Updated) Study Finds Fewer Young Adults Moving into Cities than Moving Away
An article on the Metro Trends Blog finds that data do not support the common narrative that young people are moving to cities in huge numbers. Most cities, according to the study, lost more adults aged 20-35 than they gained between 2000 and 2012.
After Mayoral Scandal, What Next for Charlotte's Permitting Reform, Streetcar Project?
Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon resigned after taking bribes in exchange for zoning and parking privileges. Will the fallout affect the city's streetcar plans or its efforts to streamline permitting and code enforcement?
Charlotte Mayor Arrested After Taking Bribes for Zoning, Parking
Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon was first elected to the city council in 1993. He’s expected to be indicted on public corruption charges next week after accepting more than $48,000 for “the use of his official position..."
Charlotte’s Growth Raises Transit and Housing Questions
A pair of recent articles examine the political and financing situation around transit (e.g., streetcar and light rail) and housing (i.e., a rental development boom) in Charlotte, which has paced the nation in growth over the past decade.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
