THE BUZZ CO M M U N I T Y
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Charlotte’s ‘10-Minute Neighborhoods’
FOURTH WARD
It’s one of the signature goals of the city’s new comprehensive plan, and these neighborhoods already meet some of the criteria BY GREG LACOUR PHOTOGRAPHS BY LOGAN CYRUS
LINCOLN HEIGHTS
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EASTOVER
THE DOCUMENT that lays out a vision for Charlotte over the next two decades establishes this as its top community goal: “All Charlotte households will have access to essential amenities, goods, and services within a comfortable, tree-shaded 10-minute walk, bike, or transit trip by 2040.” The planners who devised the goal use this shorthand term for those clusters of households, amenities, goods, services, and trees: “10-minute neighborhoods.” They’re scarce in Charlotte, as they are in most American cities. You might find some in Boston, New York, or other northeastern cities that developed decades before the primacy of the car, the parking lot, and the multilane, limited-access highway. But here and elsewhere in the Southeast, you have to look hard to find
A mix of townhomes, condos, and stately Victorian homes distinguishes Fourth Ward, uptown’s most residential quarter.
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any that meet the 10-minute-neighborhood standard, based on convenient access to things like grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, parks, and public transit. Some Charlotte neighborhoods come closer than others, though. We’ve identified six in Charlotte that already lean toward the 2040 plan’s vision. We’ll take a close look at three this month and three in the October issue. Keep in mind that we’re not saying these are ideal neighborhoods, or the most affluent, or that these are somehow “better” than others. They’re just examples of what may lie ahead for Charlotte—a city of distinct communities whose residents don’t necessarily have to take the car to get what they need.
NEIGHBORHOOD 1:
Fourth Ward
WHERE IS IT? It’s uptown’s northernmost and most residential quarter, bounded by North Tryon and West Trade streets and Interstates 77 and 277. GROCERY STORE ACCESS: 98% of housing units are within a half-mile of a fullservice, chain grocery store (here, it’s the Harris Teeter at 325 W. Sixth St.). PHARMACIES: 99% within a half-mile. There’s a CVS at West Sixth and North Graham streets. PARKS: 100% within a halfmile of a park. Fourth Ward Park is small, and Ninth Street Park even smaller, but they’re still two public parks in a compact neighborhood. TRANSIT: 100% within a halfmile of a transit stop, and the Transit Center, Seventh Street, and Ninth Street light rail stations are within easy walking distance. BANKS: 72% within a halfmile of a bank or credit union. BIKE-FRIENDLINESS: 1.7 on a zero-to-three scale that measures the transportation network’s ability to support cycling. UPSHOT: As close to a true 10-minute neighborhood as you’ll find in Charlotte.
