• Visualizing 30 years of growth in Charlotte’s core

    As Charlotte continues to grow, let’s take a look back through the past 30 years via Google Earth to see just how far the Queen City has come. Images are via GoogleEarth and are 1993, 2002, 2012, and 2023 captures with a couple of older bonus images from Brooklyn Village. Uptown You know those...Read more

  • Four ways to transform ‘stroads’

    Every city has commercial strip corridors, but there are proven strategies for rebuilding them as places for people.
    The functional classification system used by departments of transportation tends to build commercial strip arterials that are hostile to pedestrians and bicyclists, notes Portland-based architect and urban designer Laurence Qamar. At CNU 31 in Charlotte in early June, Qamar outlined four techniques...Read more

  • NPR travel personality talks ‘walkable cities’

    The show covers urbanism trends like why America is experiencing a dramatic rise in pedestrian deaths, while Europe is not.
    Rick Steves may be the best-known travel personality in the US, with an extensive multimedia business attached to his name—including books, travel guides, television, and radio. The NPR program Travel with Rick Steves has been on the air for nearly two decades, focusing mostly on Europe—where...Read more

  • How parking affects missing middle housing

    Missing Middle Housing types are key to affordability, but parking (and zoning that requires off-street parking) impacts the cost. This analysis by Dan Parolek of Opticos Design, author of Missing Middle Housing , shows that fourplexes—one missing middle type—may yield from 21 to 49 units per acre...Read more