East-Side Project

Student Classification

Senior

Faculty Mentor

William C. Harrison

Department

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design; Landscape Architecture

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Fall 2019

Disciplines

Landscape Architecture

Abstract

Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina. With nearly 800,000 people living and working in the Charlotte community, the city continues to grow. The city’s focus areas are Housing and Neighborhood Development, Community Safety, Transportation, Economic Development, and the Environment. Despite some of Charlotte’s initiatives, Charlotte struggles with growth in some of its areas; for my project, in particular, Eastway Street has been neglected for years. In 2003, the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation promised residents of Briarwood Community a neighborhood park, known as Eastway Park, with nine recreational fields, picnic shelters, a recreation center, tennis courts, and trails; however, the park has been left uncompleted and the neglection has resembled in the landscape. Neighboring Eastway Park is North Park Mall, a 1970’s discount mall that went into foreclosure in 2014, and due to lack of interest in the area, it is still standing. Since the city growing light rail line (Lynx Blue Line), the cost of living in Charlotte is increasing as well. For example, 1100 apartment was built after the installation of the line rail; however, the prices of the apartment ranges from $1500-$2000 per month for a studio. There have been many developments around the transit with price ranges like 1100 apartments, such as the Collective, McCreesh Place, and 300 Optimist Park. Although this may be decent for middle-class individuals and couples, an average Charlottian annual income is 34k annually and live in families of four. Therefore, following from Charlotte’s initiatives there could be more diverse living around the Lynx Blue Line, particularly for low-income families of three or more individuals. My project initiative is to support low and middle-income residents with the promises Charlotte- Mecklenburg County fails to fulfill. Creating a Transit-Oriented Community would be an impactful addition to the east-side of Charlotte. The Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line intersects through my area - Eastway Park and North Park Mall; the Lynx stop is 750 - 1500 feet from my site. The surrounding area is predominantly accompanied by middle-income residents of Blacks and Latinos backgrounds.

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