A previous blog post discussed the role of Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, in North Carolina. CDFIs are typically smaller financial institutions that engage in mission-driven lending intended to expand access to capital in low-wealth and underserved communities in order to fo … Read more

In the early 1900s, an estimated 15 million acres of agricultural land in the U.S. was owned by African Americans. Just a fraction of that land – about 1.5 million acres – is still black-owned and used for agriculture today. Each year, about 30,000 more acres are lost, driven primarily by a lack of … Read more

Eastern North Carolina is home to the densest industrial swine farming activity in the world.  The pork production industry is foundational to the eastern North Carolina economy, accounting for 11,821 jobs and over $200 million in wages (UNC Chapel Hill, 2013).  This activity comes with a cost, howe … Read more

Aaron Nousaine is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning. He is currently working with the Land-of-Sky Regional Council in Asheville through the Carolina Economic Revitalization Corps (CERC). As the irreversible loss of agricultural land becomes o … Read more

Suzanne Julian is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration. She is currently working with the STEP leadership team in Pamlico County as part of the Carolina Economic Revitalization Corps program. When the population of North Carolina’s Eastern Region inc … Read more

Andrew Guinn is a graduate student in UNC’s Department of City and Regional Planning and a CCP intern working in Caswell and Lenoir Counties. CCP interns recently attended a best practices meeting for North Carolina educators who provide services for out-of-school youth (OSY) in the state.  The OSY … Read more

Fredrick Davis is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning. He is currently working with North Carolina’s Northeast Commission in Edenton as part of the Carolina Economic Revitalization Corps program. As I drive up and down U.S. Highway 17 and N.C. … Read more

Lisa Stifler is a Research Associate with the Community & Economic Development Program. A previous post discussed preserving working waterfronts as an economic development tactic.  In a similar vein, preserving working farmland can also be an important community and economic development tactic f … Read more

Over the next few months I will be posting notes from conversations with advisory board members for the Rural Center project.  The notes will not name names, but will, we hope, give everyone an idea of what others are saying, keep you informed, and spark other thoughts and discussions.  Here are the … Read more