Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
false

The decline of the exurbs -- how real is it? Images like this, from Charlotte photographer Nancy Pierce, offer a compelling glimpse of how recent development spread too far before the bust. The photos were shot about 20 miles from Charlotte.

false

Mary Newsom at the Naked City featured Pierce's photos recently as a sort of cautionary tale, but she notes that not all of these places will stay abandoned.

They are haunting, depicting nature reclaiming street drains, kudzu climbing over roll-over curbs, a swimming pool in the middle of a scraped-earth lot, subdivision entry gates looking like ancient medieval ruins. Some of the developments remain stalled, or maybe dead.

Others, too, such as Castlebrooke, may be stirring to life again. As planner Kris Krider of Kannapolis tells PlanCharlotte writer Josh McCann, in retrospect, it might not have been wise for Kannapolis to annex land so far from its core, because that can strain the city’s police force and require new fire stations and water and sewer infrastructure. But the city has already made those investments, and so it needs houses to materialize, to generate revenue to cover costs.

But the photo series and the article, together, should serve as a caution to government leaders as well as private businesses. Is all growth "good" regardless of where or what it is?

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Green Miles evaluates the Romney-Ryan oil-soaked energy plan. And The Chicago Bicycle Advocate shares news of an innovative treatment the Dutch have developed to reduce car-bike collisions at intersections.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Wednesday’s Headlines

Is our Jetsons future is finally upon us? Plus, a new and better way to measure streets' level of service.

September 17, 2025

Op-Ed: Congress Has A Big Opportunity to Connect America By Intercity Bus

The next federal transportation bill could be a chance to connect rural America with buses like never before — and it will have spillover benefits nationwide, the CEO of one top bus company argues.

September 17, 2025

Breaking: US DOT Pulls Grants For Projects That Aren’t Focused on Cars

The Trump administration bias for "vehicular travel" — and the burning of fossil fuels that it requires — rears its ugly head again.

September 16, 2025

Seattle’s Human Population Is Up, But Its Car Population Isn’t

Urbanists have long been making that case that growth in Seattle is the most climate-friendly and easiest to support with transit and infrastructure. And it's happening.

September 16, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Stay Safe

Political rhetoric notwithstanding, you're much safer on a bus or a train than in a car, or walking or biking near cars.

September 16, 2025
See all posts