Urban Plan _ting

I was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. As any native would tell you, someone like me is a little bit of a unicorn. Charlotte has one of the highest growth rates and has seen rapid changes because of it. City infrastructure and housing has barely been able to keep up with the demand from young people moving to the city. As such, the city I grew up in is completely different. Charlotte has seen many great changes and additions, yes, but I think about the longtime residents who are being pushed out by climbing rent prices. Decades old neighborhoods seeing an old home being torn down and replaced with a brand new modern, black white and wood home — knowing that this same fate will meet their homes in the next few years.

Gentrification has always been an interest of mine within Environmental Justice (EJ). It is a tricky problem to address because it presents itself with many positive things like comfortable places to live, green spaces, and even providing patrons for artistic communities. Unmoderated, this force will eventually push out even the longest standing businesses and residents. I feel that Charlotte city developers are not considering the immense impact their decisions make on the community. They only see green.

Urban planting is rolled into the process of Gentrification. A perfect example of a grey area — many EJ studies have found that placing “environmental goods” like urban green space can actually be a catalyst for gentrification. Without other policy in place, neighborhoods can actually undergo vast changes from urban plantings. In the city of Charlotte, most new plantings are non-native, ornamental plant species like Crepe Myrtle, Japanese Cherry Trees, or Pear trees. Rarely do you see the - actually helpful - large shade trees being planted when older native willows come down. Most cities will do this. Because the trees are smaller, they are able to plant more and call that number a success.

These are the two factors I see that I find are parallel in Charlotte. Demographic change and urban planting. In both cases, non-natives are increasing and displacement of long standing communities and trees are being pushed out.