Tuesday marked the start of a three-day charrette in Charlotte’s West Boulevard neighborhood. The forum allows residents to voice their concerns and outline a community-led vision for the corridor.
People were welcomed and directed toward multiple rows of chairs inside a room at Greater Mount Sinai Baptist Church in west Charlotte.
The West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition and Congress for the New Urbanism partnered with design consultants to help develop a walkable, affordable, aesthetically pleasing corridor based on community feedback.
Sharika Comfort is the executive director of the coalition comprised of 19 neighborhoods. She said it’s integral that community voices are part of the discussion when addressing gentrification and urban renewal in a corridor.
“We wanted to hold a charrette to bring those who are going to be most impacted, our residents, our businesses, our families, our neighbors, into the conversation and actually have a voice in the development and redesign of the revitalization of West Boulevard,” Comfort said.
