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.
Jessica Leber writes for FastCo.Exist about the city’s status as a “poster child for sprawl” and the long commute and travel distances that residents suffer as a result. According to Leber, Charlotte’s new mayor, Patrick Cannon, supports increasing the local sales tax to fund the Charlotte 2030 transit plan.
Eric Frazier writes for the Charlotte Observer of growing concerns from market analysts that Charlotte has overbuilt rental housing. “Much of the new apartment growth is coming in and near uptown Charlotte, in areas such as the South End, SouthPark, NoDa and Elizabeth neighborhoods,” reports Frazier. Moreover, “the city’s apartment development pipeline as ‘very active,’ with more than 8,100 units under construction and nearly 12,000 more proposed.” Supply is expected to exceed demand within a year, although experts also see long term strength in the market.
FULL STORY: Can A Sprawling Southern City Remake Its Transit Networks?
HOAs Fight Back Against Institutional Investors
A growing number of homeowners associations around the country are using old legal tools to keep institutional investors from buying up, and renting out, the neighborhood.
Is Charlotte Overselling Plan to Expand Transit?
Even if voters approve a new one-cent transit sales tax, will Charlotte be able to deliver on its promise of two new commuter rail lines and a new bus rapid transit line?
Philadelphia on Track to Build Record Number of Apartments in 2022
A researcher from the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University tells a tale of two housing markets—rental and for-sale—in the City of Brotherly Love.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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