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 “redistricting,” revising imbalanced voting wards is necessary for local governments to remain compliant with the “one-person, one-vote” 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.

In FY21 Centralina Regional Planning assisted communities throughout the region with technical assistance projects related to land use and zoning, walkability, community engagement, GIS, meeting facilitation, healthy communities and electric vehicle readiness while leading regional initiatives focused on natural resource protection, mobility and future transportation technologies. However, our two largest initiatives included leading a two-state, 12 county regional transit project, CONNECT Beyond, and helping local governments update their land development codes to align with North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 160D.

What began as a small 100th anniversary event celebrating Cheerwine’s 1917 beginning in Salisbury has evolved through the years into the annual Cheerwine Festival. Within the past three years, the springtime festival has welcomed over 100,000 visitors, provided business opportunities for regional sponsors such as food, beer, arts and crafts vendors and brought a strong day of sales for downtown Salisbury merchants. Cheerwine, the event partner, also ties the festival to a charitable-giving opportunity for non-profit organizations in Rowan County. But when life began to shift due to COVID-19 after the first of 2020, festival planners were faced with a big decision: cancel the beloved festival or adapt to the circumstances.

CONNECT Our Future was an initiative that united residents, businesses, educators, elected officials, non-profit organizations and other interest groups around a common desire for more cooperation in the region and the need to work together to fulfill shared goals.

Older adults often express a desire to remain living independently in their homes as long as possible. In order to meet this collective preference, especially in the coming decades, communities will not only need to offer more senior housing, but also housing that is more accessible and affordable. Continue reading to learn about 1) older adult housing trends 2) ways communities can help 3) housing grants / programs and 4) community planning policies.