Michelle was recently promoted to Senior Director, a new position at Centralina. In this role she manages regional planning and community economic development services in the nine-county greater Charlotte region. To celebrate her successes, we sat down with her to learn more about Michelle, and her goals as Senior Director and her “secret sauce” that drives her in her personal and professional life.
Land use planning provides an opportunity to integrate land use practices with other local priorities, such as transportation connectivity, healthy living, infrastructure investment and economic development. However, developing a land use plan is a significant undertaking that requires extensive research, data analysis, community engagement and plan design to provide the community with an effective tool to guide future decisions.
AICP has announced new mandatory educational requirements for the Certification Maintenance (CM) program. The update aims to ensure AICPâs certification remains relevant to the dynamic and ever-changing needs of todayâs planners and communities. Under the previous iteration of the CM program, planners were required to obtain 32 CM credits during each two-year reporting period, with at least one and a half credits each in the areas of Law and Ethics. While the 32-credit requirement remains in place, the CM program update will require credits in two new topics, Equity and Sustainability and Resilience, which were identified by the AICP Commission as essential knowledge areas for planners.
On March 31, 2002, the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) Aviation Academy graduated its fifth class comprised of public sector, private sector and community leaders from across the greater Charlotte region. The Academy provides a unique opportunity to better understand the inner workings of CLT and its contributions and impacts on our regionâs economy, transportation system and community.
A community that is pedestrian friendly benefits everyone. And when sidewalks, crosswalks and transportation infrastructure are missing or in need of repair, the result is a lower standard of living for people who depend on these facilities for mobility. Pedestrian infrastructure is a key component in supporting community connections and the health of residents and visitors. Aging adults and those with disabilities are disproportionately affected by gaps in pedestrian infrastructure.
Early care and early childhood education programs play a fundamental role in fostering healthy communities and vibrant local economies. While the importance of these crucial services can often be
overlooked or forgotten when times are ânormal,â the COVID-19 pandemic quickly reminded us that these programs are essential to ensuring economies and communities not only thrive, but function in the first place. Additionally, as many communities across the state of North Carolina experience record levels of population growth, demand for early care programs is at an all time high.
Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes represents the first major recodification and modernization of the city and county development regulations since 1905. Every jurisdiction in North Carolina was required to update their development codes by July 1, 2021. North Carolina local governments have regulated planning and development under chapters 153A and 160A with only minor changes to the enabling statutes since their inception. The deadline for 160D code revisions presented a major challenge for many governments.
Six years have passed since the regional growth framework for CONNECT Our Future was unanimously accepted by the 95-member CONNECT Consortium in 2015. Implementation of the landmark achievement started immediately for different partners and different areas of the region. This document summarizes the work of Centralina Regional Council and its look back on accomplishments in the region that tie back to CONNECT Our Future
Every ten years, the General Assembly requires local governments that elect governing board members on a ward basis to revise their voting ward boundaries to correct population imbalances. Often, communities gain or lose population, or the population shifts over the ten-year period. Known as âredistricting,” revising imbalanced voting wards is necessary for local governments to remain compliant with the âone-person, one-voteâ equal protection clause of the United States Constitution. The one-person, one-vote principle is meant to ensure that representation and voting power remain equally distributed among voting-age constituents.
Article five in the CONNECT Our Future series focuses on topics associated with community health, namely on the relationship between community health and city and regional planning. It highlights several priorities from CONNECT Our Future and their foundational support for independent work completed by health care officials, non-profit organizations, businesses, government officials, philanthropists and community members to improve individual well-being and community health throughout the region.