By Greg Lacour It’s a crisp, sunny late-autumn afternoon in uptown Charlotte, the kind of day the city’s leaders dream about as they try to transform Charlotte into the exemplar of The New Southern City. The sunlight glints off the office towers and freshly constructed museums and catches the bulk...

A cracked and faded life preserver, seasoned more from the hot sun than from actual use, had been looking on with us as brown bubbles churned random patterns in the pool’s surface – its maritime feel at odds with its perch above the giant, brewing vat of wastewater. “Ever have to use that,” I...

Michael Gallis’ work studying urban networks has changed the way cities and transportation systems have been built nationwide. But today as he works quietly at a long red table among his books stacked around ornate pieces of his African and Chinese art collection, he looks more like a philosopher,...