Southern exposure.

PositionNC TREND: Charlotte Region

For a neighborhood bustling with new office buildings, apartments and restaurants, SouthPark's future seems to have a lot of people worried. Increasing traffic congestion and a layout that discourages walking and biking have prompted concerns that the south Charlotte neighborhood's popularity won't be sustained. Why would a millennial rather live and work near SouthPark instead of downtown's entertainment venues or South End's brewpubs?

A $250,000 effort is addressing SouthPark's future, financing a study by about 10 nationally respected urban planners affiliated with the nonprofit Urban Land Institute. They will visit the city for five days, then issue recommendations in mid-March. "We want to be out front as SouthPark transforms into a more urban marketplace," says Ron Kimble, a deputy city manager who chairs ULI's Charlotte chapter. He is helping raise $90,000 from city and county governments and $160,000 from private companies.

Despite its glitzy appearance and abundant construction, SouthPark faces significant challenges because of its blocky, disconnected design and an inability to widen existing roads connecting it to downtown, which is 6 miles north, says Craig Lewis, a principal in Charlotte with the Stantec consulting company. Walking across the intersection of Fairview and Sharon roads, where 75,000 cars pass daily, is often a scary prospect. One irony is that the 46-year-old, 1.6 million-square-foot mall that is the area's landmark may be its biggest challenge.

"It is a very large block of space, and it is very difficult to traverse north and south through that area because of that," Lewis says. Charlotte's goal should be developing a street grid that improves traffic flow and encourages...

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