City Walks have become an annual spring tradition as residents explore Charlotte neighborhoods to learn untold stories of where they live.
These walks are an effort led by PlanCharlotte.org, an online publication of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.
This year, there are about 20 walks scheduled to date. For example, meander through McCrorey Heights and the campus of nearby Johnson C. Smith University to see where many of the leaders of the Charlotte civil rights movement lived and where a home was firebombed.
Or visit small businesses – restaurants and bakeries and shops – created and run by immigrant entrepreneurs along Central Avenue, South Boulevard and Sharon Amity Road; or view a modest, affordable neighborhood in east Charlotte that’s home to an increasing number of artists and their studios – with some open studio visits.
Hear about how light rail is expected to transform University City at station areas close to the UNC Charlotte campus, or spend a morning learning about the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens with director Jeff Gillman.
City Walks are part of a global celebration – known in many cities as Jane Jacobs Walks or Jane’s Walks, inspired by Jane Jacobs, a famous neighborhood champion who lived in New York and Toronto.
Free and open to the public, City Walks are intended to inspire people to get better acquainted with their own neighborhoods, to learn about parts of the city they don’t know well and to meet one another.
A few walks have limits on how many can participate due to space constraints. Registration is requested so participants can be contacted if the walk is canceled due to weather or other unexpected reasons.
Anyone can plan a City Walk; contact the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute for help with planning, research and publicity. Contact Angelique Marcus Gaines, amarcus5@uncc.edu, 704-687-1199, or Mary Newsom mnewsom@uncc.edu, 704-687-1203.