As part of NCLCV’s new field program, staff and volunteers conducted community surveys in four target regions: Mecklenburg, the Triad, Wake County, and Fayetteville. Additionally, several places co-hosted focus groups to discuss more in-depth the topics that resonated the most with local residents, whether dealing with jobs, transportation, energy, or other issues that impact folks day in and day out. These community forums provided the initial insight into what citizens were concerned about.
Charlotte Findings:
People in the communities we spoke to felt like they had the most difficulty obtaining quality, well-paying jobs in their neighborhood, as well as the schools and training programs to prepare for them. Access to affordable housing was often a challenge as well. We heard many stories of long-term residents being priced out of their homes when neighborhood redevelopment efforts come in.
Often, we heard people say that it all came down to jobs because without a job you couldn’t afford housing, a car to access better jobs or schools, let alone food to eat and utility bills.
66% of respondents said community members rarely or never had a say in whether housing was kept affordable. That goes up to 91% if you include respondents who thought people “sometimes” had a say.
Insights from participants:
“Gentrification leads to distrust with newcomers who want to ‘improve’ neighborhoods.”
“Beautification projects lead to displacement of folks when they (revitalizing companies) advertise for new jobs. The work is inconsistent at best, but sometimes they leave town before they even pay their workers in case of pop up companies.”
“There’s a huge wealthdisparity in Charlotte. It’s like poor and marginalized folks are invisible. There are so many banks (financial banking center aka ‘Wall Street of the South’) that it creates an invisible poverty.”
“Charlotte is so pretty, but not on the streets, and no one ever talks about that. Marginalized folks are being abused by the system.”
Reflection from Leslie:
Folks who attended were amped up about the work that we’re doing. There was a healthy amount of skepticism because they’re heard of so many non-profits/campaigns coming into town, talking about “creating change”, but then they leave after November. They are hungry for sustainable work to help their community build resilience. They are really passionate about long-term growth and development for disenfranchised & marginalized communities. There was a lot of conversation about investing in people of color (and specifically women of color)-owned businesses, how to create a thriving economy for communities of color, micro-loans, shared economies, shared resources (barter systems) in communities to share skills and knowledge.
Interested in learning more about how to get involved in tackling local environmental and justice issues in Charlotte? Contact Leslie at 202.230.8943 or leslie@nclcv.org.
