Community and Economic Development in North Carolina and Beyond

Receivership: A New Tool for Addressing Vacant Problem Properties in North Carolina

Municipalities across North Carolina have long employed code enforcement tools to address problem properties and abandoned structures. A prior blog post describes the code enforcement options for repair and maintenance […]
Maintenance of vacant or neglected commercial buildings: options for NC local governments

UPDATE 2021: Some statutory provisions referenced in the original post were relocated to new Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes, effective January 1, 2021. This post has been […]
Legal and Business Reasons Why Downtown Development Programs Should Involve Secured Loans—Not Grants

Dr. Blaine Beeper is a retired hospital administrator who was recently elected to council in the Town of Bushwood. Dr. Beeper thinks he has figured out how to jumpstart revitalization […]
The Tortoise, the Hare, and Demolition in Historic Districts

A few blocks from downtown in the town’s historic district sit two houses built in the early twentieth century: the Hare House and the Tortoise House. The houses retain their […]

The Community and Economic Development program at the School of Government provides public officials with training, research, and assistance that support local efforts to create jobs and wealth, expand the tax base, and maintain vibrant communities. We deploy the resources of the University to support the development goals of communities in North Carolina.

Community Ownership as a Tool for Preservation and Wealth Creation

Real estate ownership is one of the primary vehicles for wealth creation in the United States, and consequently one of the core drivers of the racial wealth gap after generations of disinvestment in and displacement of BIPOC communities. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution and author of Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities, has conducted research showing that homes in majority-Black communities are, on average, valued at 23% less than the same home would be in a white community, even when controlled for crime levels, school districts, walkability, and the like. This represents a gap of $156 billion in lost equity within Black communities that could serve to send 8.1 million students to a four-year college, launch 4.4 minority-owned businesses, or resolve the Flint water crisis 3,000 times over.

As the nation prepares for greater investment in infrastructure and real estate development, it is critical to prioritize innovative models that enable more inclusive, local ownership opportunities that promote residential and business preservation as a wealth creation strategy. One of the ways communities can address this is through implementing Community Ownership models. This post will discuss what Community Ownership is, how it works, and a variety of existing case studies. Read More…

Addressing Construction Labor Shortages Post-Pandemic

Labor shortages are not new to the construction industry, but the pandemic has added fuel to an already urgent issue. With an aging workforce vulnerable to economic shocks, the construction industry has seen sharp rises and falls in the last 20 years, increasing safety and quality concerns. Since 2000, North Carolina has seen a decline in total construction employees, despite steady increases in average weekly wages (shown in the table below). The pandemic stalled employment growth and demand temporarily, but recently demand has been rising again, especially in new residential development and rehabilitation, with many North Carolina construction businesses looking to hire multiple new employees. Read More…

The Impacts of Upzoning on Property Values in NC

The Brookings Institute recently published an article detailing some of the benefits and drawbacks of the planning practice known as upzoning: the rezoning of a parcel of land from a lower allowable density to a higher one. One of the primary purposes of upzoning is increasing density, both of residential and commercial property. This post deals primarily with the practice of residential upzoning. Read More…

Creating a Public Mural Program: Lessons from Kinston, NC (Part 3)

This three-part blog post series chronicles the process, joys, and challenges of implementing a large-scale creative placemaking initiative, in this case the Downtown Kinston Mural Program in eastern North Carolina. The Part 1 post of this series reviewed the program design, citizen committee, and wall selection for the program. Part 2 described the process of advertising the artist opportunity, selecting artists, pairing artists with walls, and developing the artist’s concepts for the program. This third and final post in this series will review the logistics involved during mural installation, community engagement during a pandemic, and the budget management process.

Installation Logistics

The Kinston Mural Program included seven murals done by eight artists (one mural was completed by a two-person team). Each project had several logistical needs:

Insurance. General liability insurance was necessary to cover the artists in case of injury or damage to other property. The City worked with its own insurance provider to find Read More…

The Story of Job Growth in North Carolina: Feast or Famine?

It is often hard to make sense of monthly statistics on job growth. Year-over-year changes are dramatically impacted by COVID-19. With COVID cases rising again, the impact of COVID on tracking job growth or loss, industries affected, and predictions for the future is likely to continue. Fortunately, a newly updated resource allows us to understand our current circumstances in the context of a 40-year trend. The main take-away is that while the causes are different (pandemic-induced downturn versus the sub-prime mortgage-induced economic downturn), the pattern is the same. North Carolina’s experience with job growth or loss is feast or famine. Read More…

Creating a Public Mural Program – Lessons from Kinston, NC (Part 2)

Okra” by Seraphim Smith, a local artist in the program

This three-part blog post series chronicles the process, joys, and challenges of implementing a large-scale creative placemaking initiative, in this case the Downtown Kinston Mural Program in eastern North Carolina. The Part 1 post of this series reviewed the program design, citizen committee, and wall selection for the program. This blog post, Part 2, will review advertising the artist opportunity, selecting artists, pairing artists with walls, and developing the artist’s concepts for the program.

Advertising the Opportunity to Artists

The City of Kinston used a two-step process to select artists—a general Call for Artists through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), and a Second Round Application focused on budget and program requirements. Kinston chose an (RFQ) to allow artists to present their prior work and community engagement practices instead of a potential mural concept. The artist consultant engaged by the City advised staff that concept development is a significant part of the artist’s work and should vary highly after the artist gets to know the community and the wall. An RFQ allowed the Mural Committee, the citizen-led group that oversaw the Downtown Mural program, to react to the artist and their existing portfolio, compensate the artist for their concept development during the program, and avoid boiler-plate concept submissions by artists who are (quite reasonably) unwilling to create a unique concept for a program without being paid. Read More…

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