Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[ah59396]

Hey!  Lawana Mayfield made the news here in Seattle.  I guess that’s...something.

[QCxpat]

                                                                                

Clayton Sealey's newest must-read story:  "Charlotte needs a new, non-crappy slogan that reminds us to work to be great,"  Charlotte Five, April 12, 2018. 

Excerpts:

"Full of piss and vinegar, we think we can take over the world, but we get no support from the NCGA. Thanks to their obsession with the rural parts of the state, Eastern NC gets our roads, Asheboro got our zoo, and we don’t get our share. Charlotte accounts for more than one-third of the State’s Gross Domestic Product, but you‘d never know it based on how the state 'shares the wealth.'"

"What makes Charlotte unique isn‘t the extent of its offerings. We are the Queen City, the crown jewel of ”The New South.“ We are a city adept to transition. We‘ve gone from gold, to textiles, to banking. We survived a banking crisis that should have completely sunk us, and came out of ”The Great Recession“ diversified economically and ready to compete. We were the first mid tier city in the South to develop a light rail system. We are a city that simply “wants it” more than anyone."

"Its been about a decade since “Charlotte‘s Got a Lot“ debuted, and it’s time Charlotte gets a new slogan that doesn’t just tell others that we think we are great, but reminds us that to be great, we have to work diligently toward our ultimate goals. Reminds everybody that we are the Queen City, and while we might have some deficiencies we will try like hell to be great anyways."

Link to the full story at Charlotte Five:   https://www.charlottefive.com/charlotte-slogan/  

Edited April 20, 2018 by QCxpat
selection of excerpts from Charlotte Five story

[DMann]

How about "Charlotte's full of it".  LOL

[Richhamleigh, DC]

In terms of proximity to interesting places, pity Atlanta, GA.  It's two hours from nothing but some hills and, except for Athens, GA, a few dumpy towns.  Even Georgians don't vacation in Georgia. 

[videtur quam contuor]

In Highlands NC It was eat up with Georgia (and Florida) car plates.  Atlantans like it there.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

49 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

In Highlands NC It was eat up with Georgia (and Florida) car plates.  Atlantans like it there.

Exactly.  Asheville is full of them too, just like the OBX and SC coast.  To hear Georgians brag about their "mountains" and "beach" ( is there more than one that's not a mosquito-infested tidal swamp?) Makes me laugh seeing them rushing to get out of the former penal colony.

[NcSc74]

Folks you all live in one of the country's most desirable location.  Take it from a person who has moved every 4 years since 96; Charlotte has what most folk like me want.  I work with people who have Charlotte and Raliegh on their short list of cities they would like to relocate to.  I currently live 2 hours north of OKC and my wife and I high tail it to the city every weekend simply to experiece some reminder of urban life.  What OKC is doing is admirable.  They are building what they don't have and some of it is a bit tacky and straight rip off of other cities but it works.  Charlotte should veer off to the future and make its own history. 

What Charlotte needs is an identifiable structure.  How about a 500ft crown adorned spire at a gateway location.  Also, a dedicated entertainment district complete with retail, mix of home grown restaurants, ecclectic watering holes and jazz/chillhop/deephouse music venues (my preference); you get my drift.  I'm hoping Gold District, South End can slowly fill that void.  As far geographic features goes I don't think folks really care as long as they are awed and entertained  by the city. Make Charlotte an urban paradise.  Something the New South hasn't seen.  I don't mean copy ATL.  I mean look too Seattle, San Fran, NOLA, NYC.  Take ideas from those true urban cities and incorporate them there. My thought would be an urban forest, brownstone neighborhoods, brooklyn blocks with their own local grocer and retail.  Not every apartment needs to look so modern.   Add some class to the structure, how about some art deco apartment buildings. Parks scaled for the neighborhood.  No need for a lot of stuff to put in it.  Grass, trees and a statue.  Lastly people say sports bring people together so add bars/restaurants with lofts around the stadiums .  Honestly, Charlotte has a moslty clean canvas.  All those parking lots make me wish I had a billion dollars.

[SgtCampsalot]

9 hours ago, NcSc74 said:

What Charlotte needs is an identifiable structure.  How about a 500ft crown adorned spire at a gateway location.  Also, a dedicated entertainment district complete with retail, mix of home grown restaurants, ecclectic watering holes and jazz/chillhop/deephouse music venues (my preference); you get my drift.  I'm hoping Gold District, South End can slowly fill that void.  

Question, since you may have this perspective. What makes NoDa, Plaza-Midwood, Dilworth, South End, etc, fall short of the kind of district you mention? What would they need more of in your view to get to that point? My only guess is more "filler" infill in between Uptown and these areas' cores.

[Cadi40]

I was thinking and Charlotte needs a main attraction Uptown. Washington has the Mall, Atlanta has the Aquarium /CNN Center, Etc. We need a structure, A monument, Anything that can be a meeting place for everyone to go to. 

[southslider]

^the disco chicken

[R.Talbott]

2 hours ago, Cadi40 said:

I was thinking and Charlotte needs a main attraction Uptown. Washington has the Mall, Atlanta has the Aquarium /CNN Center, Etc. We need a structure, A monument, Anything that can be a meeting place for everyone to go to. 

Obviously it’s not recognizable to people outside of CLT, but Romare Bearden Park has pretty much become this to people from the area.  Or maybe not, idk.  I like it.

[Norm2]

1 hour ago, R.Talbott said:

Obviously it’s not recognizable to people outside of CLT, but Romare Bearden Park has pretty much become this to people from the area.  Or maybe not, idk.  I like it.

Nascar Hall of Fame is it.....

[NcSc74]

On 4/20/2018 at 8:38 AM, SgtCampsalot said:

Question, since you may have this perspective. What makes NoDa, Plaza-Midwood, Dilworth, South End, etc, fall short of the kind of district you mention? What would they need more of in your view to get to that point? My only guess is more "filler" infill in between Uptown and these areas' cores.

Tbh, I wouldnt want those places to become high traffic areas for tourist.  Let them develop organically as neighborhoods.  Especially NoDa and Plaza.  For Soyth End and hopefully North Tryon, storefronts, human scale green areas for gathering that are not overly engineered and retail that the local residents need.  As mentioned before music venues that not only can be enjoyed but how about some outside action. 

[hinsp0]

On 4/19/2018 at 2:45 PM, ah59396 said:

Hey!  Lawana Mayfield made the news here in Seattle.  I guess that’s...something.

I read further down this thread and see that folks are clamoring for some kind of unique attraction or district for Charlotte.  How about something dedicated to Lawana Mayfield?  I’d put it in Levine land.  It might actually spur development a few decades from now.  Kind of like Lawana is waiting to see evidence of whether or not a plane took down the towers, I’m waiting to see evidence of steel pilings being driven next to a certain parking deck.

Also, no one should criticize this post.  Lawana instructs you all to respect my rights to free speech (even though you don’t have to since you’re not the government - she is).

I’m just glad that she’s looking out for her constituents.  After we get to the bottom of that whole dad-gum 9/11 conspiracy, then we’ll be free to address affordable housing.

[elrodvt]

The conspiracy stuff IS troubling as it shows a basic issue handling simple logic. I would say the same about all the MAGA folks on here.

Anyhow, your post is a little annoying to me. Everyone has quirks and she may be effective in other areas. You trivialize her position and job. I don't know anything about the lady other than this one issue which does not affect her job. Do you know anything about her accomplishments or positions?

[hinsp0]

You can learn about her by reading her profile in charlottenc.gov or her public policy statements in local media sources.  Sorry my sarcasm rubbed a few folks the wrong way or annoyed them.  But, really, questioning 9/11 now when she has real issues to constructively address that impact her actual constituents?  I won’t apologize for the fact that I had family die on that day or shortly thereafter in Afghanistan.  My bad.

[elrodvt]

Lot's of nut jobs in our government from the city to federal level. If I had a family member caught up in it I would be more than sarcastic so no worries.

[deleted]

2 hours ago, elrodvt said:

The conspiracy stuff IS troubling as it shows a basic issue handling simple logic. I would say the same about all the MAGA folks on here.

Anyhow, your post is a little annoying to me. Everyone has quirks and she may be effective in other areas. You trivialize her position and job. I don't know anything about the lady other than this one issue which does not affect her job. Do you know anything about her accomplishments or positions?

Are there MAGA folks on here?  If so, I don't know who they are...

[KJHburg]

In other news, NC is in the top 10 of UFO sightings!   Congrats   http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article209601789.html

[tozmervo]

10 hours ago, JBS said:

Are there MAGA folks on here?  If so, I don't know who they are...

I couldn't say for sure, but I can tell you that there are a lot of folks on this board that are crushed by Lawana's turn from well respected council person and lgbt representative to nut job.

[deleted]

10 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

I couldn't say for sure, but I can tell you that there are a lot of folks on this board that are crushed by Lawana's turn from well respected council person and lgbt representative to nut job.

I'm sorry if some feel like they lost an advocate but she was always pretty suspect in my opinion.

I'm the furthest thing from MAGA (I have an anti-Trump sticker prominently displayed on all three family cars).  I also have high tolerance for contrarian views (though not conspiracy theories generally) and agree with Mayfield that 9/11 was used to justify some truly awful things (wars and loss of privacy among them).  Obviously, she is wrong about anything other than planes flown by terrorists causing the destruction.  As a representative of her constituents and the city, she should be more careful what she posts on social media.  I have never been impressed by her generally, whether it's to claim racism whenever she finds herself in trouble or weird posts about people's private sex lives (or just her often poor articulation/justifications of her political positions).   

All of that said, I hate the "gotcha" world we live in where people demand firings and resignations over a lapse in judgement or an unusual opinion.  Both sides do this every day and it's beyond tiresome.  For that reason alone, I hope she survives...

[elrodvt]

21 hours ago, JBS said:

Are there MAGA folks on here?  If so, I don't know who they are...

I can guess. But enough said about that.

[tozmervo]

I thought there was a thread for discussing the Charlotte "parking crater" but can't find one. Anyway, this city comparison was posted on r/urbanplanning recently. https://imgur.com/a/06jLimN#LUpLwSU. There are certainly a few mistakes, but Charlotte's is mostly accurate and I think we mostly look good by comparison. Some of the cities in the Midwest, though - woof. 

For those playing along in the obsessive mapping game, https://drive.google.com/open?id=16-A35NpVihduT_s2Kqb_u3VmG-Y&usp=sharing

[southslider]

^Gateway Station, Brooklyn Village, and North Tryon/First Ward account for much of the parking, all of which is slated for redevelopment.

[asthasr]

On 4/22/2018 at 11:17 PM, JBS said:

Are there MAGA folks on here?  If so, I don't know who they are...

Oh, you sweet summer child.