The Urban Institute is a nonpartisan, applied research and community outreach center at UNC Charlotte. Founded in 1969, it provides services including technical assistance and training in operations and data management; public opinion surveys; and research and analysis around economic, environmental, and social issues affecting the Charlotte region.
Why this planner thinks Charlotte should scrap its transit plan
Michael Gallis is a longtime planner with a big idea for Charlotte: Throw out the city's transit expansion plans and start from scratch. Gallis, who's been involved in some of the big plans guiding Charlotte's future, doesn't hold back when he talks about what's wrong with Charlotte's plans and how the city should do something different.
Gallis joined the Future Charlotte podcast to talk about transit, transportation, what's driving economic growth and why the city he nicknames "Boosterville" needs to get real about the threats looming on the horizon, from climate change to a lack of equitable growth.
26 Sept 2022TRANSCRIPT
Saving and growing Charlotte's tree Canopy
Charlotte loves its trees. But are we willing to do all that we can to save them?
That's the paradoxical question confronting Jane Singleton Myers, executive director of TreesCharlotte. The city's iconic tree canopy has shrunk from 49% to 45% coverage as of 2017, and likely more in the five years since the last comprehensive measurement.
Myers joined the Future Charlotte podcast to talk about how Charlotte can preserve its tree canopy, why it matters that we do so (hint: shade and rain), and how a city that loves both growth and trees can balance competing interests. Myers also talks about her favorite tree, and why trees hold such a powerful place in many of our childhood memories.
12 Sept 2022TRANSCRIPT
Charlotte's Changing Climate, with Brad Panovich
From seemingly endless heat waves in the west to catastrophic floods from Kentucky to Pakistan, a drumbeat of extreme weather has dominated the news this summer. In Charlotte, it can feel like we’re not on the front lines of climate change — we’re not on the coast watching sea levels creep up, or out west watching rivers wither under record droughts — but we’re seeing the effects too. Hotter, muggier summers, heavier downpours, stronger storms. And we’re going to see more changes in the coming years.
There are few people watching our weather as closely as Brad Panovich, chief meteorologist for WCNC, and few people who provide as much information about our climate and post as prolifically, and on as many platforms. He joined the Future Charlotte podcast to discuss everything from why it feels like our summers are muggier and grosser-feeling than they used to be (hint: dewpoints), what Charlotte's climate will look like in the future and what we can do locally to address impacts such as more rainfall, flash floods and the biggest weather-related killer — heat. Panovich also lets us in on what's his favorite season, why Charlotte is a good place to be a meteorologist and what he'd change about Charlotte if he could change anything (it's not the weather).
Inside a recent episode
Why this planner thinks Charlotte should scrap its transit plan
Published 3 Oct 2022 · Transcript excerpt
[…] We're having massive droughts in the Southwest. Massive floods in parts of the U .S. Kentucky. And we're seeing it in Europe. And this drought condition, flood condition, what I call the asymmetry of the environment is growing more. The demand to grow more efficient cities is more than ever before. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
