Join Us in Charlotte, North Carolina

The 6th annual AARP Livable Communities National Conference took place "Uptown" in November 2018. Here's some of what makes Charlotte a good city for a livability gathering

Among the benefits of attending a livability conference is that going out on the town — to see examples of livable communities efforts in action — is useful and fun field work. The slideshow below features some of the sights conference attendees were able to see on their own or during a mobile workshop at the 2018 AARP Livable Communities National Conference.

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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

Charlotte: The Center of the Known World!

This whimsical signpost points the way to other Charlottes — in Maine, Michigan, Tennessee, Australia, among other distant lands — and is a piece of street art located in The Green, a three-tiered, 1.5-acre private park that's open to the public. What the sign doesn't explain about "the center of the known world" but is useful to know is that Charlotte's business downtown is referred to as its "Uptown."
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

Splash With the Fishes

The Green, which is located at 400 South Tyron Street, contains landscaped garden beds, literary-themed sculptures and this refreshing fish fountain. Shops and restaurants line the park, making it a popular destination for residents, tourists, workers from the nearby skyscrapers, and conventioneers gathered at the Charlotte Convention Center across the street.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

A Musical Space

Named after a Charlotte-born artist, the 5.4-acre Romare Bearden Park hosts weekly concerts, a summer music series, fitness classes and cultural arts programming. The park's design — which includes the shaded cafe-style seating area shown here — is based on the late artist's paintings and collages.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

A Parking Lot Becomes a Park

Charlotte is organized into four wards. The 4-acre First Ward Park opened in 2015 and was created through a public-private partnership. The city, Mecklenburg County and the University of North Carolina Charlotte Center City, pictured, were the public part of the effort. The popular park has a decorative fountain with colorful lights, a plaza with water jets for splashing in, animal-themed sculptures, fitness equipment and play and climbing structures. The park is adjacent to the Charlotte light rail and walk-bike trail (see the next two slides) as well as ImaginOn, a unique library and cultural arts center for children and teens.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

A Place for Pedestrians

The paved, 3.5-mile Charlotte Rail Trail runs parallel to the city's light rail tracks and is a dedicated space for bicyclists and pedestrians. Since the trail winds through neighborhoods, the well-used path is a way to walk to dinner, take a casual stoll with a stop for iced tea, go shopping or just sit on a bench to people- and dog-watch. For some lucky residents, the trail is a scenic commute to work.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

CATS links LYNX

Transit-oriented developments place housing close (sometimes incredibly close) to trains, streetcars or similar means of getting around without an automobile. CATS (the Charlotte Area Transit System) runs the city's LYNX light rail, also referred to as the Blue Line, which covers 19 miles from I-485 in south Charlotte up to the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in north Charlotte. The line has 26 stations and traveling from one end to the other takes about 45 minutes. The system typically operates from 5 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. with trains arriving every 10 minutes. The roundtrip fare costs $4.40 for adults and $2.20 for senior citizens, students or people with disabilities. Tickets are sold from a vending machines on the station platforms, and while there are no turnstiles or ticket-takers, there are fare inspectors. Being caught without a ticket can result in a hefty fine.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

Walk or Ride

The light rail is a street-level system with crossable streets and the Charlotte Rail Trail alongside. This image above faces toward the Carson Street Station between Uptown Charlotte and the fast-growing, popular South End. The next slide explains the yellow structure that's visible on the right.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

Sit and Swing

An odd, leftover patch of land between the rail trail and a light rail transformer box was transformed into a mock front porch (dubbed "Edna's Porch") with an adult-sized swingset. The Carson Boulevard spot is frequented by people walking the trail as well as neighborhood residents and workers. Created by local architect David Furman, the space is named after his grandmother, whose front porch swing inspired the structure. The wooden deck and bleachers can be used for performances or just sitting. The Charlotte Rail Trail has room for more than 70 such creative spaces. (See the next slide for another example.)
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

Bland Street Station Isn't Bland

Located in the vibrant South End neighborhood, the seesaw at "Fowler Porch" (named for the adjacent Fowler Building) is another rail trail play feature for people of all ages. Among the other fun sites and scenes along the trail is the "Pre-Historic South End Brontosaurus," a wire sculpture many call a "bicycle-osaurus." It's located on the northbound (or inbound) side of the light rail near Bland Street Station.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

Ping-Pong for a Party of Six

A corridor off of Camden Road in South End houses the Charlotte Trolley Powerhouse Studio (an urban design office and community space). This "Hexpong" table sits right outside. A box beneath the table contains the supplies. The game can be played by as few as two or as many as six people.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

A Playground for People of All Ages

The Marian Diehl Recreation Center and Senior Center are located in a residential area beyond Charlotte's more urban core. In 2015, the campus opened a multi-generational play park — provided by Southminster, a senior housing and continuing care organization, to promote healthy, active play for all ages. The fenced park's surface is padded. Children's play equipment is placed at a slight distance from but within eyesight of the adult exercise equipment, which is automatically calibrated to set its weights and tensions at 30 percent of any user's weight. A stationary bicycle in the space will charge a cell phone as a person pedals.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

Coffee and Cake, Day or Night

It's a treat when a town or city has an eatery that sells delicious treats and offers pleasant surroundings for eating, sipping and snacking. The locally based, very French bakery and cafe Amelie's has four locations in Charlotte, three of which are open until very late. The fourth never closes. Unless there's a weather or other emergency, gourmet coffee and sweets are available in Charlotte 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton, AARP

A Place in Need of Placemaking

The corner of South College and East Stonewall streets outside the Charlotte Convention Center contains an empty plaza. Working with the city, AARP volunteers (such as Dean, pictured) and attendees of the 2018 AARP Livable Communities National Conference will help "activate" the space and make it a place.
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PHOTO BY: Melissa Stanton

We See an Age-Friendly Community

Charlotte's many livable features make is a great place for hosting a livable communities conference. The note on this basket, seen at the restaurant Tupelo Honey, reads "Feel free to borrow our readers." That's so age-friendly! Want to attend the conference? You can learn more through the links above and below — or register right now by following this link!

^{Slideshow updated December 2018}

2018 AARP Livable Communities National Conference

To return to the main conference page, visit or bookmark: AARP.org/Livable2018

Find information and materials from our prior conferences:
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Join Us in Charlotte, North Carolina

The 6th annual AARP Livable Communities National Conference took place "Uptown" in November 2018. Here's some of what makes Charlotte a good city for a livability gathering

Charlotte: The Center of the Known World!

Splash With the Fishes

A Musical Space

A Parking Lot Becomes a Park

A Place for Pedestrians

CATS links LYNX

Walk or Ride

Sit and Swing

Bland Street Station Isn't Bland

Ping-Pong for a Party of Six

A Playground for People of All Ages

Coffee and Cake, Day or Night

A Place in Need of Placemaking

We See an Age-Friendly Community

2018 AARP Livable Communities National Conference

AARP.org/Livable

Our Free Publications!

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