This is the fifth article in our 8-part series of weekly blog posts called "The Good, the Bad, the Possibilities". For this series, we are asking local experts three questions to give you a quick overview of recent local trends and solutions with respect to a range of important issues that affect our community's sustainability. This week’s topic is solid waste, and our featured experts are Victoria O. Johnson, Director of Solid Waste Services for the City of Charlotte, and Jeffrey Smithberger, Director of Solid Waste Management for Mecklenburg County. Continue reading

We’re all either seniors, or will be seniors one day. An often overlooked facet of sustainability is how to make our communities accessible, open, and appreciative to all ages, including older residents. That’s why we started our Senior Mobility Project, and why we chose to make age-inclusive communities the theme of our August Grow Smart CLT. From millennials to boomers, 70 people gathered at The Barrel Room at Catawba Brewing Company to participate in a discussion about building age-friendly communities. Continue reading

You've likely been hearing a lot about equity in the local news lately. There's been a lot of attention focused on how equity is affected by affordable housing, quality of schools, gentrification, and a host of other very real and pressing social issues. In today's blog post we examine how access, or lack of access, to high-quality public transit affects equity.  TransitCenter's new Inclusive Transit: Advancing Equity Through Improved Access & Opportunity report sums it up well: "Allowing people to meet these [day-to-day transportation] needs creates long-term economic opportunities and helps people escape poverty. In addition to transit’s well documented environmental and economic benefits, public transportation can be a powerful tool to advance racial equity and social justice in American cities." Continue reading

This is the fourth article in our 8-part series of weekly blog posts called "The Good, the Bad, the Possibilities". For this series, we are asking local experts three questions to give you a quick overview of recent local trends and solutions with respect to a range of important issues that affect our community's sustainability. This week’s topic is land use, and our two featured experts are John Komisin and David Walters.                                                                                                 John Komisin                      David Walters Continue reading

This is the third article in our 8-part series of weekly blog posts called "The Good, the Bad, the Possibilities". For this series, we are asking local experts three questions to give you a quick overview of recent local trends and solutions with respect to a range of important issues that affect our community's sustainability. This week’s topic is parks and green space, and our featured expert is Lee Jones, Director of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. Continue reading

Summer in North Carolina is in full swing: long sunny days, temperatures in the ‘80s, and humidity even higher… oh, and for those of us at Sustain Charlotte, the chance to go back to summer camp! On Thursday, July 19th, we hosted a Sustainable Transportation Fair in partnership with the Progressive Baptist Church’s summer camp, YouthQuake!. We invited governmental departments and nonprofits from all over the city to Arbor Glen Outreach Center, to teach the campers about how transportation choices affect their health, safety, and community. Continue reading

Last Wednesday, government leaders, entrepreneurs, activists, and students all converged on the Hurt Hub in Davidson, NC, to hear four relatively disparate voices sing the praises of intentional planning and design. The theme of this month’s LaunchLKN Infinite Possibilities mixer was “Are our smart cities smarter?”, and representatives from the NCDOT, Autonomous Fusion, and Rocus Networks joined our own Meg Fencil in a forum-style event to discuss the intersection of innovation and quality of life. Continue reading

This is the second article in our 8-part series of weekly blog posts called "The Good, the Bad, the Possibilities". For this series, we are asking local experts three questions to give you a quick overview of recent local trends and solutions with respect to a range of important issues that affect our community's sustainability. This week’s topic is water, and our two featured experts are Emilee Syrwicze and Jennifer Frost. Continue reading

Today we're launching a new 8-part series of weekly blog posts called "The Good, the Bad, the Possibilities". For this series, we are asking local experts three questions to give you a quick overview of recent local trends and solutions, with respect to a range of important issues that affect our community's sustainability. Our first topic is transportation, and our two featured experts are Ron Tober and Dan Gallagher. Continue reading

If you've avoided riding the bus to work because your travel time would be too long, relief is on the way! On October 1, the second phase of CATS' Envision My Ride initiative will bring major changes to numerous bus routes to speed up your trip. By removing the numerous meanders that routes take into neighborhoods and instead keeping them traveling along major streets, CATS's updated routes will allow many of its riders on the most popular routes to travel between more quickly. CATS is proposing changes to almost 20 bus routes this fall including 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 16, 20, 21, 25, 30, 34, 45x, 60x, 61x, 62x, & 235. CATS staff discuss proposed bus route changes with residents during public meetings. Continue reading