North Carolina

Raleigh planner Dan Douglas has some bold proposals for the city, including nine new public squares, green roofs, and a new Grand Central Station-style transit hub.

In an effort to give themselves more time to pay for it, transit officials in Charlotte may delay an 11-mile light rail extension for six years.

Mary Newsom at the Charlotte Observer argues that until Charlotte residents stop calling streets 'roads', they will be stuck in a rural mindset and fail to see the broader picture of transportation in their city and county.

The City Council of Charlotte, North Carolina has signed a deal with WalMart to build a SuperCenter in place of an abandoned mall. City Councilmember Nancy Carter says it will create an opportunity for transit-oriented development.

Groundbreaking for the nation's most technologically highway, a toll road, occurred on August 12 in North Carolina. Attended by Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, the 19 mile road will have no toll booths. It is expected to open 2011.

Votes in the Charlotte area are considering another raise to their sales tax to fund transit projects. New documents show the tax increase may not bring the improvements quickly. But without the raise, some projects may never get built.

Atlanta is seen by many as the economic powerhouse of the South. But some say Charlotte's progress in providing transit and reducing traffic may begin to tip the scales.

Mecklenburg County commissioners are scheduled to debate whether to add a second half-cent sales tax to fund transit in the Charlotte area.

Two new light rail projects near Charlotte were planned to get built at the same time, but the economic recession is forcing officials to choose one and delay the other.

Residents of Charlotte, NC are pushing the State to change a zoning rule to allow a WalMart to go in on Independence Blvd. Land around the boulevard is being held for a possible freeway, but residents claim the area is stagnating from the strictures.

Charlotte politicians have been pushing for the completion of a freeway loop around the city -- a $220 million project. Mary Newsom argues that road funding would better serve the city and the region if it were directed to Charlotte's transit system.

A new comprehensive plan being released in Raleigh has many -- both in and out of the city -- wondering what's the best way to grow in the post-sprawl world.

New projects in North Carolina and Ontario take an old idea of district heating to new levels using solar.

NC Rep. Price Harrison hopes that the third time's a charm when he reintroduces legislation requiring higher auto emissions standards. If it passes, the state's standards may start looking more like California's within the coming year.

A Home Depot Expo in Charlotte, NC, is closing. Mary Newsom explains that the real problem with big boxes like this is that they don't make sense over time.

FEMA has redone official maps of flood-prone areas across the country, designating some as flood zones for the first time.

North Carolina city dwellers have taken eating locally to a new level by raising their own chickens for eggs. Controversy ensues.