The economic fallout from COVID-19 magnified many of the existing challenges faced by North Carolina communities such as access to open space or the capacity of the local health care systems. Among these issues, the crisis highlighted how stable and affordable housing is essential to the well-being … Read more

Whether you work in community or economic development, there has always been pressure to measure your success. CED professionals are very familiar with having to explain what type of impact they hope to have with their initiatives.  It is even harder to document success. Evidence-based decision-maki … Read more

Crowdfunding or the act of raising investment dollars locally within a community can be traced in North Carolina to the early 20th century and potentially even earlier. Many of our community’s most iconic buildings were developed with financing provided by local residents. In early 1921, a committee … Read more

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 … Read more

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 resid … Read more

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 w … Read more

Sprawled on roughly 40 acres in Charlotte, N.C., The Renaissance is the first Purpose Built Community in the Queen City. Its purpose: be more than a housing option. Developed by Laurel Street Residential in 2016 on behalf of the Charlotte Housing Authority (Now InLivian), The Renaissance offers crad … Read more

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 w … Read more

UPDATE: In July 2022, U.S. Treasury and HUD jointly released an “Affordable Housing How-To Guide” here: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Affordable-Housing-How-To-Guide.pdf. Please consult that document in conjunction with the state law information provided below and in charts here and her … Read more

Prior to suburban flight, living in urban centers was commonplace, and business owners often lived in their commercial properties. Commonly referred to as live-work units, architect Thomas Dolan defines live-work as “a building, unit, or compound in which residential and work activities are pursued … Read more