Which ‘burbs boomed?

If you want to keep arguing about transit, please do so, on the comment string from my previous post. This is about other topics.

Booming ‘burbs: What’s the country’s fastest-growing suburb? Not Marvin. Not Fort Mill. See this Forbes magazine story for the answer, and for a list ranking suburbs by growth rate. (Want to skip Forbes’ annoying full-screen ad before reading the article? Click on “Skip this welcome screen” in upper right corner.) The chart, ranking growth from 2000 to 2006, tallies Holly Springs at No. 18, and Wake Forest at No. 20. Both are in Wake County. You might say Holly Springs is a suburb of FuquayVarinaHuntersville is No. 46, and Cornelius No. 51.

Back off, bulldozers: Salisbury, which takes more pride in its historic buildings than, say, Charlotte, on Tuesday will consider (but not vote on) an ordinance to require the City Council to issue a permit for any downtown demolition. Here’s the Salisbury Post’s article.

Hummer Houses in Hotlanta: Here’s a link to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s article last month about a proposal to limit the size of large houses on small lots. (A Nexis search didn’t find any follow-up articles.)

On the verge of importance? UNC Charlotte’s Ken Lambla, dean of the College of Architecture, offers a thoughtful look at the role of art and architecture in this month’s Charlotte Viewpoint. He starts, “We all know that Charlotte is on the verge of something big; the question that follows is whether we are on the verge of something important? After 24 years of teaching at UNC Charlotte and being involved in architectural and urban practices, I am convinced that we are just about ready to make a shift in substance.”

Anti-sprawl in Greensboro: Read about an “un-sprawl” development in Greensboro, from terrain.org, “A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments.” Here’s a link. It’s about Southside, one of that city’s first significant mixed-use infill projects, and winner of an American Planning Association award in 2003 for Outstanding Planning: Implementation. The photo shows Southside infill housing (in yellow) and renovated housing.

Driving drives down volunteering: Long commutes have a negative effect on community volunteering, a new study finds. The study says four factors influence the rate at which a community’s residents volunteer: (1) residents’ attachment to the community, (2) commuting times, (3) socioeconomic characteristics such as education levels, and (4) the capacity of a community’s nonprofit groups. The study found that volunteer rates in central cities are lower (24%) than in suburbs and rural areas, which rates (29%). Here’s a link to the study. Charlotte ranked No. 9 nationally for volunteering, below Milwaukee and above Tulsa. Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked No. 1.