Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[VistaLakes01]

You know,I haven't heard much about any cities perception since the great recession began. I know Charlotte has gotten some national press on its rap[id transit system and the secret to making such a system successful. Now that President Obama has funded and anounced the high speed rail between Orlando and Tampa in addition to Metro OrlANDO'S COMMUTER RAIL, have heard mention of Charlottes . Big difference is is the nations first city to city high speed rail system in decades.m It has now spurned a 3rd train sytem in Orlando to connect the local commuter rail to the Orlando to Tampa system. The local Orlando commuter rail is about 50 miles long already. But there has been quite a bit of mention of the success of Charlottes system and applying some of the same techniques used here as used there. Other than than not much mention of perception of any city since the recession has began, unless it's bad news, unfortunately. Was a lot of talk a few years back of downtown residential development in "Charlotte much similar to here in Orlando at the time. Orlando managed to get much of its projects completed, they are slowly filling up and Orlando has one of the south's largest inner city populations, 30,0000 people withing 1 mile of the city center and 155,000 within 3 miles of the city center. How's Charlottes downtown residential doing? lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllspeed rail system between two huge metro areas in dercades. Now a third Orlando rail system has been spurned from this to connect the Orlando to

Tampa system to Orlando's 50 mile commuter rail system. But quite bit of mention of Charlosttes system and its successes. Other than that, haven't heard much of pereception of any city nationwide since the recession, just bad news if anything.

Edited April 5, 2010 by metrowester

[HopHead]

If you're a sports fan (like me), the next month or so will provide some things for all Charlotte area sports fans:

1) Bobcats first home playoff games (both 3 and 4 are sellouts)

2) Quail Hollow PGA golf tournament starts next week. 11 of the top 16 players are in town next week including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. This event is sold out as well.

3) NASCAR Hall of Fame opens in a few weeks. The opening ceremonies is expected to draw a sellout as well.

4) Two NASCAR races, the All-Star race and a week later the Coca-Cola 600.

[tozmervo]

Hah. You gotta love the local stories that break into international media.

(Brixx) Waitress sacked for Facebook gripe over tip

Edited May 17, 2010 by tozmervo

[HopHead]

Not sure if anyone has seen it, but on the History channel there is a series called "America: The Story of Us". It takes you through various periods in our country's history. They've talked about everything from the migration out west, to the steel and industrial booms, and most recently through the technology boom and 9/11. It's sponsored by Bank of America. And it does talk a lot about the history of the bank and Charlotte (back to the NCNB days under Hugh McColl) during commercial breaks. Interesting stuff as it does show some of the history of the city that was created by the bank. Definitely worth checking out.

[tozmervo]

Wonderful! Based on a precarious set of statistics, Charlotte has been named America's Manliest City. 'Scuse me while I go pound some beers at the Lowe's tool department.

[phil-king]

There seems to be a dichotomy emerging between the perception of Charlotte, for lack of better terms, as a Sun-Belt city and a Southern city. Someone previously mentioned the New York Times article, which raved about the new cultural campus. It paints the city as a burgeoning cultural center developing a strong sense of a identity wholly its own, but consistent with the progressive attitude of places like Austin or Portland. At the same time much of our recent publicity has come from venues that are not typically labeled progressive, like the NRA convention or the NASCAR hall of fame. One of my major concerns is that Charlotte will inevitably be pigeon holed into one category or the other. Either it will be viewed as part of a new evolution in American cities or as a stronghold for the politics and pastimes of the traditional South. One may have doubts about the merits of either or both, but ultimately elements of each enrich the city in the literal and cultural senses. Moreover, one does not have to enjoy Bechtler at the expense of ignoring Nascar, just as one does not have to advocate progress at the expense of being Southern. I hope the general public and the media can come to comprehend that we are too large and too diverse to have our city partitioned into two mutually exclusive paradigms.

Edited June 24, 2010 by phil-king

[go_vertical]

I've gotta say, I am extremely excited that the cultural campus is a reality. One thing that is often written about Charlotte is that it has "no identity" or "no culture". Well, think of all of the young children and teens that will be brought to these museums and galleries by their parents and then return home inspired to create something of their own. In my opinion this is one way a city identity is created. As the roots of these venues take hold I believe we will begin to see a true Charlotte artistic style. I will be moving back to Charlotte very soon and I can't wait to visit these museums as well as the smaller galleries that I am sure will open as the thirst for art grows in the city. Congrats to everyone that worked so hard to plant this seed.

[15895]

Yeah, Charlotte has changed rather dramatically in the past 4 years. I know I have several friends (from 18 - 26) who are in love with Charlotte. Everytime I see them (which they span 85 and 321 from Greenville - Kings Mountain - Gastonia - Hickory) they beg "Let's go to Charlotte and see Power Tower!" . So, I take them around the loop, go on Wilkinson, Independence etc. etc.... then they want to get on Light Rail. Go to the epicenter, go see the firebird, then back to epicenter for a couple hours. Get back on light rail, go home. Quite a few of my friends have the "power tower" as backgrounds on their cell phones.

I can never drag them away from uptown... Some of them are either planning or will move near uptown very soon. My friends are people who have 0 interest in skyscrapers really, they're just your average young adults. But Light Rail, Power Tower, Firebird, and epicenter just really really put a smile on their face and probably have to be the main - if not only reasons - they are absolutely in love with uptown. That and the hooters.

One of my friends - while on independence heading towards the loop - out of the blue said "It doesn't get any better than Charlotte" . She's been to NYC and places, so. She's not just a country bumpkin from Kings Mountain.

Edited June 24, 2010 by AirNostrumMAD

[Urbanity]

A couple of interesting related thoughts for this thread. AAA Carolinas has named Charlotte as one of the top destinations for leisure travelers in North Carolina. That may not seem like much on it's face but I think it is great that Charlotte is becoming a regional draw similar to Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

This seems to fit naturally with the city's aspirations to grow as a regional destination powerhouse first and then build buzz from there. It seems that strategy is succeeding.

On a related note, Yesterday my partner and I had brunch at Monticello on Tryon and we kept seeing tourists walking past. We ended up having some wine at the patio in front of the Bechtler (highly recommended for Sunday afternoon leisure activity) and met a couple from Atlanta and a woman from New York. All of whom just decided to "give Charlotte a try".

I think the city is really getting there. Now they need to add the shopping and the additional recreation activities to continue to build on what see,s to be a very real buzz.

[Urbanity]

So.... I got married this weekend and had a number of out-of-town guests (family and friends) visit..

The overwhelming positive take by many (who are from NYC and California) was that CLT is just a great town: picturesque, friendly, and lots of life bars, restaurants and just people watching in city center.

The constant refrain of "ehhh: was lack of any retail, walkable small hoods (think Charleston or NYC Brooklyn Brownstone neighborhoods) and lack of gay culture - ironically the last was remarked upon by hetero cuples -s o go fibure.

The good news is that all loved the city and none had previously been here. There was also a majority feel that the light rail line we had was good but needed to be extended simultaneousness as the streetcar and counter rail lines - in many of the NYC views )a you can't segment the mass transit plans too much or else they risk being jokes)

Anyway - it was a moment when the city did me proud as all the guest seem to love this town!

[go_vertical]

Congrats on the wedding.

[kermit]

Congrats on the wedding.

+1 on that. Congratulations!

[kermit]

Trivia:

The Ritz-Carlton made it onto Fortune's list of the 15 best new business hotels (it had some pretty lofty competition)

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/lifestyle/1011/gallery.best_business_hotels.fortune/11.html

The LEED Gold-certified facility offers complimentary hybrid-vehicle transportation, its employees wear uniforms made from regenerated plastic-bottle material

[Skyybutter]

So.... I got married this weekend and had a number of out-of-town guests (family and friends) visit..

The overwhelming positive take by many (who are from NYC and California) was that CLT is just a great town: picturesque, friendly, and lots of life bars, restaurants and just people watching in city center.

The constant refrain of "ehhh: was lack of any retail, walkable small hoods (think Charleston or NYC Brooklyn Brownstone neighborhoods) and lack of gay culture - ironically the last was remarked upon by hetero cuples -s o go fibure.

The good news is that all loved the city and none had previously been here. There was also a majority feel that the light rail line we had was good but needed to be extended simultaneousness as the streetcar and counter rail lines - in many of the NYC views )a you can't segment the mass transit plans too much or else they risk being jokes)

Anyway - it was a moment when the city did me proud as all the guest seem to love this town!

Congrats on the wedding. Glad your friends and family liked Charlotte overall. It is difficult to put Charlotte up against cities in California and NY though. We are talking about cities in both states that grew rapidly when cars werent even a whisper. Therefore you have cities that have neighborhoods rooted in walking and neighborhoodiness <---- if thats even a word.

Ive always said Charlottes biggest challenge will always be feeling like a city of neighborhoods. I'll take a city of neighborhoods with culture and corner stores over a city of freeways and skyscrapers anyday. They are much more interesting and unique IMO.

Having said that thank goodness for the neighborhoods we do have such as NoDa, Belmont, etc...

[caterpillar2]

Congrats on the wedding. Glad your friends and family liked Charlotte overall. It is difficult to put Charlotte up against cities in California and NY though. We are talking about cities in both states that grew rapidly when cars werent even a whisper. Therefore you have cities that have neighborhoods rooted in walking and neighborhoodiness <---- if thats even a word.

Ive always said Charlottes biggest challenge will always be feeling like a city of neighborhoods. I'll take a city of neighborhoods with culture and corner stores over a city of freeways and skyscrapers anyday. They are much more interesting and unique IMO.

Having said that thank goodness for the neighborhoods we do have such as NoDa, Belmont, etc...

The only city in California that was is worth mentioning that existed before the automobile was the San Francisco. I would personally put Charlotte up against any city in New York except NYC. Too many on this board have no concept of Charlotte before 1970. Downtown thrieved and walking from Five Points to Elizabeth or Fourth Ward to Southend wasn't anything unusual. Cities outside of the sunbelt have not had growth patterns like the south. Unfortunately, most of the south is newly build due to growth patterns. People move to this area to have big yards for their children to play and to have Bar-B-Ques and enjoy the outside. The age of cohesive ethnic ghettoes of northeastern citiesfor which many elude has gone away. Corner stores in the city are not feasible now with the cost of land, etc. We do have some really nice neighborhoods that are trying to bring patterns back as they were in the good old days and that is great. But, Charlotte was once a thrieving city for its size with the trolly cars, pedestrians, and all of the things for which so many are aware.

Many of my friends in London would move here in a hearts beat if they could. They often visit and love the area. They have no problems finding wonderful parks to walk or run, and excellent shopping. The corner shop and small cafe in London is also dying due to costs, etc. I would love to have the corner shop and mom and pop businesses, but that is a thing of the past in most cases.

Added to your neighborhoods of NoDa and Belmont, I would like to add Fourth Ward where my mom grew up, Elizabeth, Southend, Dilworth, Davidson (the town), Cornelius, Baxter, Selwin Village, and downtown Concord to name a few more.

Edited November 17, 2010 by caterpillar2

[Urbanity]

Well - here is one ranking of cities that Charlotte didn't place at the top or bottom.

A ranking by city crime rate for 400 cities were released and in ordering from Most Dangerous (#1) to Safest (#400) Our ranking is nothing to be proud of however we might take heart that a few notable cities have worst rankings. Just for fun, I listed our competitors for the DNC 2012:

#1 St. Louis (beats out Camden, NJ for the dubious title of most dangerous city in the U.S.)

#7 Cleveland

#48 Minneapolis

#118 Charlotte

http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2010/City_crime_rate_2010-2011_hightolow.pdf

[tozmervo]

Well - here is one ranking of cities that Charlotte didn't place at the top or bottom.

http://os.cqpress.co...1_hightolow.pdf

Some other notable comparison rankings:

25 Atlanta GA

64 Fayetteville

65 Columbia SC

75 Nashville TN

85 Greensboro

93 Winston-Salem

97 Wilmington

117 Durham

---

176 High Point

218 Jacksonville

236 Raleigh

393 Cary

[caterpillar2]

I think that it is great that we are the 18th largest city yet rate 118. I remember when Minneapolis would have been at the end of the list for practically no crime. Times are changing. I can also remember when Charlotte was the mudrer per capita leader. We have come a long way.

[southslider]

To be fair, based on this annual ranking's methodology, Charlotte's best "crime-fighting" tool is annexation. That's largely why a city like St. Louis, with the same, fixed boundaries for the last 130 years, yet no major population gain of late (indeed major loss for much of the late 20th century), does so poorly. For comparison, the Charlotte metro is actually less safe by the same metrics than the St. Louis metro. But luckily for Charlotte, it's the city rankings (not metro) that make headlines.

[krazeeboi]

For comparison, the Charlotte metro is actually less safe by the same metrics than the St. Louis metro.

How do you figure that? The St. Louis metro isn't even ranked, at least in this year's rankings: http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2010/Metro_crime_ranking_2010-2011_alpha.pdf

[caterpillar2]

To be fair, based on this annual ranking's methodology, Charlotte's best "crime-fighting" tool is annexation. That's largely why a city like St. Louis, with the same, fixed boundaries for the last 130 years, yet no major population gain of late (indeed major loss for much of the late 20th century), does so poorly. For comparison, the Charlotte metro is actually less safe by the same metrics than the St. Louis metro. But luckily for Charlotte, it's the city rankings (not metro) that make headlines.

The rankings are for cities, not metros. Charlotte may have annexed, but the demographics for the city haven't changed over the decades. If the Charlotte metro had been what was being rated, we would have had even less crime as low crime areas would have taken up a huge proportion, ie. Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Matthews, Pineville, Denver, Concord and other rather low crime districts.

[krazeeboi]

Actually, metros are ranked as well as cities. The rankings for metro areas are in the link I posted in my previous post.

[Urbanity]

Since I'm the one who posted this (city crime rankings), I want to weigh in a bit. I think most rankings in general are something one takes with a grain of salt.

I think it's good for us that we did not place high (at least in the top 100) for most dangerous cities from a national perception POV, but my own impression of living in Charlotte is that it we've still got a crime rate that is disproportionate and high for a city our size.

[southslider]

How do you figure that? The St. Louis metro isn't even ranked, at least in this year's rankings: http://os.cqpress.co...-2011_alpha.pdf

When both Charlotte and St. Louis metros both last appeared together in the CQ Press ranking, Charlotte ranked 35, while St. Louis was 103 (see below 2009 rankings link). That's how I figure the St. Louis metro is safer than the Charlotte metro. But yes, the City of Charlotte (750k pop in 260 square miles) is statistically safer than the City of St. Louis (350k in 60 square miles). That is, when you measure "dangerous cities" as total crimes reported per resident population.

Fortunately for Charlotte, "dangerous metros" isn't as splashy of a headline. And when measuring cities, Charlotte luckily sprawls faster than its change in crimes reported, helping its "city" ranking decline.

http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2009/MetroCrime2009_Rank_Rev.pdf

[Dilworthy]

A study by Brookings from 07 to 09 shows Austin as the most popular city for "mobile migrants". The age range in the analysis was 25 to 34.

Charlotte is in the mix, according to them we were ranked quite high pre-recession but now "hip" cities like Austin and Seattle are on top. Atlanta,Houston and LA were also mentioned.

Of course we were the only named city in the article that was tagged with a state appendage. Yep we will never shake "NC" will we? It's on tighter than a DUI anklet.