As communities begin the long recovery process in the wake of Hurricane Florence, many residents will need temporary housing. One challenge, though, is the zoning ordinance.  Most zoning ordinances strictly limit manufactured homes and recreational vehicles (RVs). As the Federal Emergency Management … Read more

Tourism is a big business. It makes up 5% of the world’s GDP and employs 1 out of every 12 people around the world. Within the United States, it employs 1 out of 8 people. It can also be a driver for community revitalization – in particular, cultural heritage tourism shares a lot in common with comm … Read more

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative is accepting applications through November 2nd. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative was established by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Division of NCDOT in 2004. Amid des … Read more

$465 million. That is the estimated market value of real-estate lost between 2005 and 2016 in Florida’s Miami-Dade area. The cause? Rising sea-levels and the resulting tidal flooding and hurricane storm surge, according to a recent peer-reviewed study by Steven McAlpine and Jeremy Porter of Columbia … Read more

A recent Community and Economic Development blog post outlined the concept of Workforce Housing – housing affordable to households earning 60 – 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) – including the roots of workforce housing initiatives, and how macroeconomic trends have challenged the supply of hous … Read more

Located on the western edge of Charlotte, ReVenture Park is an underutilized 667-acre industrially zoned area currently being redeveloped by a team led by Forsite Development. The long-term vision sees the site – once occupied by a textile dyeing operation – turned to a thriving hub for renewable en … Read more

North Carolina communities are undergoing rapid economic change at different rates in different parts of the state.  Issues such as affordable housing, appropriate rate levels for public services, costs of commuting and wage growth (or stagnation) are now key for CED officials, whether your communit … Read more

In many cities across the country, it is increasingly difficult for middle-income workers to buy or rent housing in the areas in which they work. This is in part due to wages not keeping up with increasing costs of living but is also due to the limited supply of housing affordable to these workers. … Read more

  The state’s Abandoned Manufactured Homes Program has been underway for a decade but has not had the impact that its sponsors had hoped for. Over 100,000 abandoned manufactured homes litter the landscape posing environmental and public health concerns in every county in North Carolina. This po … Read more

At the Environmental Finance Center, we think a lot about the affordability of public services including environmental services such as drinking water.  Historically, many programs have measured affordability by looking at the cost of service compared to a community’s median household income, though … Read more