Charlotte is about to begin a multi-year update of its zoning ordinance! This is a great opportunity for the city to plan for a growing population by aligning its zoning ordinance with its vision for vibrant, people-oriented places! Read our blog to find out what City Council members and staff said about the project during last week's Transportation and Planning Committee meeting.

Have you made it to the beach? This is the final week of the Race to the Beach Commute Challenge and Sustain Charlotte is in the lead! For a chance to win prizes, log your clean commutes before the website closes at 12AM on August 24!

This week, Sustain Charlotte Bronze Partner, Domtar, released their 2015 Sustainability Report highlighting their environmental leadership in fiber-based product production and their support of sustainable harvesting. Among its most notable accomplishments, the company self-generated 74 percent of the electricity used in its pulp and paper mills through cogeneration technologies and hydropower, outpacing the US pulp and paper industry average of 59 percent! Click here to read more.

Instead of holding our next Monthly Mixer at The Liberty on September 1, we are partnering with We're The Future We Vote and encouraging all to attend the unique Mayoral Candidates Forum they have organized. For this #ShakeUpCLT event, #WTFwevote has teamed up with the Charlotte Agenda. Each candidate for Mayor of Charlotte to select 20 images that represent their vision of the future of Charlotte, PechaKucha* style. As the images are presented, each candidate will have approximately 5-7 uninterrupted minutes to speak. They can present their vision, share their platform, or tell their personal story. This event will be held at the Booth Playhouse at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. It is a free event, but tickets are going fast! Click here to reserve your seat today, before they're gone!

We are currently seeking sponsors for our 1st Annual BIKETOBERFEST on October 17! Many thanks our presenting sponsors Triple C Brewing and Crescent Communities! If interested in sponsoring, please contact Jordan Moore at [email protected] or click here for more information. Be sure and mark your calendars! This will be a fun event you don't want to miss! 

Watch this inspiring video of kids talking about what it would mean to repower their schools with 100% renewable electricity (by Repower Our Schools coalition): 

We are happy to give a warm welcome to our newest member: Miriam Mohammad! We sincerely appreciate our members' support of our mission and your community!  

Thanks to our Bronze Partner, Domtar, for their renewal! This year, Domtar launched a new program entitled Paper Made Here, which encourages customers, media, policymakers, environmental groups and the public to ask themselves the important question: “where does my paper come from?” Watch the latest video in their video series now: The People Behind Your Paper. To learn more about the importance of buying North American paper and the Paper Made Here story, visit: domtar.com/papermadehere. To learn more about our partnership program, and how your organization can benefit while also supporting our mission, click here. 

Local residents like you play a critical role in ensuring we have the resources to carry out our work in the community to inspire choices that lead to a to a healthier and more vibrant community for generations to come! Help us do more by becoming a Sustain Charlotte member today for as little as $3/month -- that's one cup of coffee! Click to learn how easily you can support our mission and your community via membership:

UNCC Students Imagine Urban Landscape Projects to Reduce Sprawl  

Last spring, UNCC Urban Design students engaged in an experiment to "take University City's existing layout and apply the concept of Landscape Urbanism -- a theory that involves linking disconnected sections of an urban environment by using its natural landscape...[This] idea of urban landscaping is considered an increasingly popular remedy to urban sprawl, which often if responsible for fracturing a city and forcing reliance on cars to get anywhere." According to this article by The Charlotte Observer, "Charlotte has experienced tremendous growth in recent decades, creating its own issues of urban sprawl in some areas. 'Right now, the way the city has been expanding, you have limited connectivity,' said Ming-Chun Lee, an assistant professor in UNCC's College of Arts and Architecture. 'It's not walkable. It's really designed for people with cars'. University City is one of those problem areas." We are glad to see UNCC's Urban Design program is examining the local problem of urban sprawl and experimenting with practical solutions in University City! Click here to read more. 

15 Metros With the Biggest Declines in Commuting by Car

According to Next City, a new U.S. Census Bureau report shows that 76.4 percent of Americans drive to work alone, but "also charted metro areas that have made strides in cutting down their numbers of automobile commuters...One reason for the shift could be that young urban commuters are the least likely to rely on cars. Urban workers age 25 to 29 showed a 4 percentage point decline in automobile commuting between 2006 and 2013, according to the report. That age group also showed the largest increase in public transportation use." Click here to read the full article and see what metros have had the biggest declines in commuting by car. What would it take to get the Charlotte metro on this list? 

* August 19: Charlottean of the Year Summer Panel Event *

5:30pm - 8:00pm @ the BB&T BallPark. Charlotte magazine invites you to join them and some of their 2014 Charlotteans of the Year for an evening of inspiration, enlightenment, and engagement. Sustain Charlotte founder and director Shannon Binns will be on the panel representing Sustain Charlotte as one of last year's Charlotteans of the Year! Click here for more information and to purchase a ticket.

August 21: Charlotte/Connect Networking Event 

6:00pm - 9:00pm @ The Label House, 900 NC Music Factory Blvd., Suite B6, Charlotte. The mission of Charlotte/Connect is to bring 900-1,000 20-30 somethings to an event where they can connect with non-profits, young professional organizations, companies in Charlotte, restaurants, and other organizations to help fulfill the needs of the vastly growing group of transplants and replants in our city. Sustain Charlotte will have a booth at this event! Join us! Click here to claim your ticket today. Enter promo code CLT100 when checking out to receive a free ticket!

Oct 6-7: Making Energy Work Conference

@ The Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27601. NCSEA's Making Energy Work Conference is the setting for collaboration to move our clean energy economy forward. It is an opportunity to learn about the next in clean energy, network with clean energy leaders, and identify solutions that advance our clean energy economy. Click here for more information and to register.

* Oct 15-17: The 2015 NC Bike Summit to be Held in Charlotte*

@ UNC Charlotte - Center City Building, 320 E 9th St. Charlotte. The 2015 NC Bike Summit promises to be packed full of information useful to  bicycle advocates, transportation planners, business owners, elected officials, tactical urbanists, public health practitioners, and livability and sustainability professionals. Sustain Charlotte is proud to be the local host for this event. 

* Oct 17: Sustain Charlotte's BIKETOBERFEST *

Following the 2015 NC Bike Summit, Sustain Charlotte will be holding our very first Biketoberfest -- an event that will bring together biking enthusiasts and 'newbies' alike in a city-wide celebration! Interested in aligning your organization with this event?  Click here for sponsorship information.

 MANY THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS