21st Century Cities

[fsujax]

Found this on CNN's website. Too bad it's not Jacksonville instead of Charlotte.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/01/infrastructure.rebuild/index.html?hpt=C2

[Doctor_K]

from that article, Infuriating:

Where America is rebuilding

Smith points to downtown Charlotte as a prime example. During the past decade, downtown Charlotte has added new restaurants, art centers, the soon-to-be-opened NASCAR Hall of Fame and nightspots, Smith says.

Charlotte's downtown growth was the result of good planning, Smith says. Thirty years ago, the city's business and political leaders decided that Charlotte couldn't sustain its suburban growth. So they began rebuilding downtown and eventually won public support to install a light rail system, he says.

Even the Great Recession couldn't stop Charlotte's downtown revival because the rebuilding projects had so much momentum, Smith says.

"We were fortunate to have 30 cranes swinging in our city center as we moved into the teeth of the recession," Smith says.

[Lunican]

I heard this NPR story on the radio this morning.

As recently as 2007, Charlotte's unemployment rate was 4.5 percent. Now it's pushing 13 percent - one the highest among major metro areas in the country.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125470106