Mass transit, like in many southern cities, has been admittedly lacking in Charleston. We have an expansive bus service that does a serviceable job, however any semblance of light rail vanished with the dismantling of the electric trolley cars in the 1930s. Charleston as a Leader in Mass Transit There was a time when, especially among southern states, Charleston spearheaded … Read more
As developers swoop into the upper peninsula to save us from our own growing pains, every few years we see a new master planned community to complement and embrace the historic fabric of Charleston. The latest iteration is a planned development of the uninhabited Laurel Island along the banks of the Cooper River. A 160 acre island that once served … Read more
Crowd sourcing data can produce wonderfully useful results. In this case, a crowd-sourced map of flood-prone streets in notoriously flood-prone Charleston. We’re entering the rainy season in August, so use scrupulously.
Marking the boundary between historic Charleston and the Upper Peninsula district, Huger Street has served as a secondary roadway connecting Morrison Drive, Meeting Street, King Street, and into the Hampton Park Terrace neighborhood. However, the importance and prominence of Huger Street in Charleston’s infrastructure has never been more important. Traffic on the street began to increase with the opening of the … Read more
Charleston’s intentions for The Upper Peninsula Initiative are to direct population growth towards the city center in an effort to mitigate sprawl. Of the eight strategies implemented in the EcoDistricts framework, Urban Form & Pattern has the most apparent and enduring influence. The arrangement of building densities, their heights and architectural styles, as well as the natural environment and transportation infrastructures are all paramount … Read more
Venture north along the east side of the Charleston upper peninsula, and you will see the charm and history of the port city taper into an disjointed patchwork of abandoned industrial sites, public housing, and a sprinkling of trendy restaurants. The area is the obvious next frontier for growth in Charleston, and City Hall wants to make sure development occurs in a thoughtful way. Enter … Read more
Many scars remain in Charleston from transportation works projects of decades past, from a time when all civic projects were laser focused on an automobile-centric vision for a city’s future. In the 1960s, our fair port city was connected with America’s burgeoning interstate highway system with the Interstate 26 project. Paving a beeline freeway from the upstate, zipping through the capital … Read more
Good news for anyone who breathes air in our fair city – the Port of Charleston is expanding its efforts to see that the trucks moving cargo in and out of its terminals are newer and cleaner with fewer emissions. The air quality in Charleston, particularly in the areas around the ports and interstates, is an inherent victim of the … Read more