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And yes, Charlotte does have urban areas. They aren't going to have the density of a neighborhood in San Francisco, Boston, or even downtown Charleston, but there are areas that are certainly functionally urban. Considering the size of metro Charlotte, there aren't a lot of them and they aren't particularly expansive but they are present.
I think we don't all agree on a definition of urban. There are some that believe one must have skyscrapers for it to be urban. Personally I think an area is urban enough for me if it has the following characteristics:
-Easy access to mass transit
-residents can easily walk to a multitude of establishments including restaurants, retail stores, and a grocery store (a must). Preferably also a library, post office and a city park.
-retail establishments in most cases are street front. If parking exists, it would be behind the building.
I do think Plaza Midwood and Dillworth meet this criteria.
Read my post again. That was the first thing I mentioned.
Dilworth and Elizabeth are not urban. Both were built specifically as suburban developments. I would not even rate either as particularly walkable since many streets in these places have no sidewalks.
Dilworth and Elizabeth are not urban. Both were built specifically as suburban developments. I would not even rate either as particularly walkable since many streets in these places have no sidewalks.
What streets in Dilworth or Elizabeth don't have sidewalks? The vast majority do - and most on both sides of the street. The neighborhoods may have been designed as suburban developments, but Dilworth was specifically designed as a streetcar suburb - so walkability and access to public transportation were very much part of the design.
I would not characterize either in the sense that they are not that dense...but definitely walkable. To transit, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, dry cleaners, bagel shops, etc...we do all of those on a regular basis.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yantosh22
Dilworth and Elizabeth are not urban. Both were built specifically as suburban developments. I would not even rate either as particularly walkable since many streets in these places have no sidewalks.
The OP was not clear which is why I asked for a clarification, asking the person to cite a neighborhood in their own town/city that is what he or she wants. I cited examples that is you googled them would bring up images of row homes, brownstones, twins & single family homes of various styles & densities.
If the OP clarifies the request, then we can determine if Charlotte has what is desired, & not until then.
The OP was not clear which is why I asked for a clarification, asking the person to cite a neighborhood in their own town/city that is what he or she wants. I cited examples that is you googled them would bring up images of row homes, brownstones, twins & single family homes of various styles & densities.
If the OP clarifies the request, then we can determine if Charlotte has what is desired, & not until then.
No matter what "it" is, Charlotte probably has it. However, "it" maybe rare and limited (ie, 20 plus story apartments).
Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalf
are there any urban-y type neighborhoods with old homes, trees, small yards, etc that are walkable to schools, grocery stores, entertainment, museums, public transportation, etc? ideally a safe place where families live?
is this too much to ask?
No it is not too much to ask. Like others have stated, Dilworth/South End, Elizabeth, and (to a lesser extent) Myers Park are areas you should look at. Obviously, you probably aren't looking for hardcore NYC type areas because you did use the term "urban-y". I think some of the other posters completely missed that judging by their responses.
With that said, here are some areas of Charlotte that I would check out...
Nothing against Davidson, but there are just MUCH more urban options within central Charlotte. Yes there are quite a few surface parking spaces and parking decks close to these areas (I can think of quite a few cities with surface parking/decks downtown) but they are better than Davidson.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 06-07-2011 at 10:02 PM..
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urbancharlotte
No matter what "it" is, Charlotte probably has it. However, "it" maybe rare and limited (ie, 20 plus story apartments).
No it is not too much to ask. Like others have stated, Dilworth/South End, Elizabeth, and (to a lesser extent) Myers Park are areas you should look at. Obviously, you probably aren't looking for hardcore NYC type areas because you did use the term "urban-y". I think some of the other posters completely missed that judging by their responses.
With that said, here are some areas of Charlotte that I would check out...
Nothing against Davidson, but there are just MUCH more urban options within central Charlotte. Yes there are quite a few surface parking spaces and parking decks close to these areas (I can think of quite a few cities with surface parking/decks downtown) but they are better than Davidson.
I absolutely agree that urban-y was the key word in the OP's post. The only wrong answer would be no, but getting a clarification would be helpful. It is possible that what they actually want is in extremely limited supply.
I absolutely agree that urban-y was the key word in the OP's post. The only wrong answer would be no, but getting a clarification would be helpful. It is possible that what they actually want is in extremely limited supply.
For me the OP was very clear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalf
are there any urban-y type neighborhoods with old homes, trees, small yards, etc that are walkable to schools, grocery stores, entertainment, museums, public transportation, etc? ideally a safe place where families live?
is this too much to ask?
1 Old Homes (generally 30 years old or older)
2 Trees (NOT hardcore urban with only buildings and concrete)
3 Small Yards (generally 1/4 acre lots or smaller)
4 Walkable to schools (generally less than 15 minutes walk one-way)
5 Grocery stores (generally less than 10 minutes walk one-way to avoid carting groceries too far)
6 Entertainment/Museums (places like the Nature Musuem near Freedom Park, movie theatres, or the Neighborhood theatre in Noda)
7 Public Transportation (less than a 5 minute walk to the nearest bus/train line; preferably a line that has a 15 minute headway at the least)
8 Safe family-like place (again, not a hardcore "concrete jungle" with shootouts every night; a place where kids can ride their bikes/skateboards after dark)
Are there areas of Charlotte where this can be found? ABSOLUTELY!!! The rule of thumb is to live 4.5 miles or less from the corner of Trade and Tryon. This gives a person roughly 64 sq/miles of area to search. This is where "old Charlotte" exists. Obviously, the closer one is to Trade and Tryon (ie 2 miles or less) the more "urban-y" things get. However, urban-y can be found as far as 4.5 miles out. Eventhough 64 sq/miles isn't a whole lot in a city with nearly 300 sq/mi of real estate, just know that over 33% of Charlotte's population lives within that 64 sq/mi area (it does have greater density than the rest of the city; thus making it "urban-y"). Also, I can think of quite a few cities that don't even have 64 sq/miles of land (San Fran, Boston, Paris just to name a few). But then again, these are cities with well over 500,000 people in less than 64 sq/miles of land (super urban places which is NOT what the OP asked for).
Maybe its just me, but the OP was VERY clear. And YES, Charlotte has what the OP asked for.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 06-08-2011 at 09:30 AM..
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