Form-based codes (FBC), an approach to zoning that emphasizes design over use, are an increasingly popular tool for municipalities to have in their repertoire as they consider shaping the future development of their communities and built environment.  FBC are becoming more widely adopted as cities a … Read more

Across the country, local governments are increasingly embracing land banking as a key strategy to catalyze and control the revitalization of their vacant and abandoned properties. As described in this post on the CED blog, North Carolina local governments can cobble together the statutory authority … Read more

With six feet (and counting) of snow on the ground in Boston, the only thing that local officials should fear as much or more than more snow is a heat wave. If it doesn’t melt slowly, communities and homeowners will have to deal with significant flooding. In an area as developed as the Boston metro, … Read more

City planners like to quote Daniel Burnham, the late-19th century architect and planner. “Make no little plans” he famously said. “[T]hey have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.” That’s all well and good, but those bi … Read more

In 2014, The Raleigh City Farmers Market began operating each Wednesday outside the city’s Historic City Market building. The market, comprised of fifteen vendors from around the Triangle region, offers produce, meat, cheeses, and other locally sourced food. It is part of a larger trend of farmers m … Read more

This post is part of our series on North Carolina CDFIs. CDFIs are financial institutions that expand access to capital in low-wealth and underserved communities in order to foster economic development and revitalization. See previous posts in the series: an overview of the role of CDFIs in North Ca … Read more

The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust is framing a new place-based initiative around an important question related to the long-term prosperity and vitality of rural communities in the state: What if rural North Carolina was a healthy place? For example: • What if fewer people suffered from diabetes? … Read more

The redevelopment of brownfield sites can be difficult. These sites, which are contaminated to some degree with harmful substances usually due to prior industrial use on the site, pose challenges to redevelopment beyond those of a typical project. However, the reuse of these sites can be a boon to e … Read more

A series of reports on the impacts of racial exclusion from the UNC Center for Civil Rights demonstrates that North Carolina’s racially segregated African American and Latino neighborhoods are more likely to suffer from inequality in living conditions related to housing, environmental justice, polit … Read more

As one of the fastest growing regions in the country, with population projections calling for as many as one million additional residents by 2040, cities in the Research Triangle face an increasing challenge to meet housing demand, specifically for those experiencing homelessness and earning very lo … Read more