News and Announcements
By Mae Israel The Community Innovation Incubator represents a new partnership between university researchers and Charlotte neighborhood residents to study a local issue and develop recommendations with an action plan. In this approach, residents are equals and full participants, not research subjects. Process Mecklenburg County officials, who have designated dealing with food insecurity as a […]
Bringing the vision into focus: Study groups zero in on West Charlotte food retail innovation By Mae Israel After weeks of research, a market study and discussions, a group of researchers from UNC Charlotte and Johnson C. Smith University, along with West Charlotte community experts who have been working on ways to increase food access […]
Empowering and engaging with the community in West Charlotte By Mae Israel Before joining the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as an associate professor of architecture and urban design, Nadia Anderson worked with a university design lab in Iowa that collaborated with community groups across the state to create new food systems — including […]
‘Fresh food access is a human right’ — Meet some of the people seeking change in West Charlotte By Mae Israel After years of pushing for better food access in West Charlotte neighborhoods, J’Tanya Adams and Rickey Hall have grown weary of broken promises and the failure of most traditional grocers to invest in their […]
Designing a new solution for food insecurity in West Charlotte By Mae Israel A large black-and-white sign on the front of the Stop N Shop convenience store on West Boulevard, the commercial center of several historic West Charlotte neighborhoods, invites customers inside with a promise: “We Sell Groceries.” Behind several rows of candy, chips and […]
Lori Thomas, Director of Research and Faculty Engagement at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, will assume the role of Interim Director of the institute effective May 1. Thomas will replace Jeff Michael, the Institute’s long-time director, who is leaving the position April 30 after serving 18 years to become North Carolina’s Deputy Secretary for Natural […]
Many faculty members at UNC Charlotte are intimately involved in the community, often seeking to teach, conduct research, and engage in service in partnership with groups, institutions and public entities to improve social and economic conditions. Now, those faculty members have a new advocate and source of support, with the University’s first Senior Fellow for […]
Most growth cities do not pay serious attention to equity. They don’t have to. Charlotte-Mecklenburg is different. And UNC Charlotte is critical to the region’s aspiration to ensure that every child and family benefit from the region’s economic growth, regardless of their race or ethnicity, city neighborhood or rural community. That is the primary reason […]
UNC Charlotte is building on its action research legacy to partner university researchers with community leaders to solve the region’s systemic challenges around inequity. As part of this initiative, the University’s Office of Urban Research and Community Engagement is joining Mecklenburg County to lead a seven-month, collaborative initiative to find a sustainable, equitable and economically […]