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So, friends. After a week of local news stories that just don’t deserve our energy today, we decided to go a different route. As we share a story written by an Observer Journalist, highlighting Tom Hanchett’s new book, we can’t help but see the twists and turns we’ve had around housing for more than 100 years. — Narrow voices insist that if we just “build more” and “stop over regulation” we will get to where we want to go. This article teaches us we had better learn our own history first before we get too confident. Written with a non-agenda, non-partisan voice, this is a story of Charlotte’s design, history, and roadblocks to housing affordability, with some insightful suggestions. All while ending in a positive tone.
Below I offer a few soundbites to whet your appetite for this fascinating read:
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The Cost Of Living In Charlotte, by Ely Portillo, Charlotte Observer
“Charlotte has struggled to develop affordable housing for more than a century . . . A new book by Charlotte historian Tom Hanchett chronicles the tenure and depth of the issue and what might—might—be done to make it better.”
(By the way, Meet tom Hanchett, Sunday June 1st, at Park Road Books between 2:30 and 4:30 pm.)
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“If you go back far enough, this [Seventh and North Brevard streets for example] was a mixed-income neighborhood—because all neighborhoods were if you go back before the 20th century,” Hanchett says. “There are layers of history.” That level of granularity—achieved through painstaking research in archival records—old maps, Charlotte News and Charlotte Observer clippings, and first-hand interviews—informs Hanchett’s new book, Affordable Housing in Charlotte: What One City’s History Tells Us about America’s Pressing Problem. He began by compiling the first comprehensive list of 180 affordable housing developments in Charlotte over the past 80 or so years and [traced] how they got built. Published in May of 2025 by UNC Press, the book is a history of the people, programs, and societal trends that have shaped the city’s growth over the past century. It’s also a chronicle of how successive generations have wrestled with an issue that persists to this day: how to house the city’s lowest-income residents.
Now, sitting on a bench in the wide, grassy median park on Ninth Street, it doesn’t feel like we’re amid some of the most intensively designed and contentious mixed-income housing in the city, the former site of so-called “projects” and still home to hundreds of subsidized units.
And that’s the point.
“In my generation and previous generations … we were taught to fear low-income housing—and fear is not too strong a word,” Hanchett says. “And the feeling was that if low-income people moved in next door, your life would be ruined—and your property values, even more importantly.”
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Hanchett fully acknowledges the murky complexity around affordable housing policy. Big, publicly owned housing developments isolate people on islands of poverty. Breaking up large projects into smaller developments scattered throughout middle-class neighborhoods draws angry neighbors like flowers draw bees. Subsidizing private developers’ efforts to build apartments for a mix of income levels takes forever and falls short of meeting the needs. There’s no single, clear, right answer. Everything is a trade-off.
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Faced with a big housing shortage after World War II, the federal government started to aggressively subsidize new construction through Federal Housing Administration funding for developers to build modestly priced apartments. Many, like Selwyn Village, were in middle-class areas and had no stigma attached to them. (Future business titans Hugh McColl, Ed Crutchfield, and C.D. Spangler lived and played weekly football games there as young men.) Some of those developments became public housing.
A generation later, in the 1970s, white and Black neighbors tried without success to block Charlotte Housing Authority plans to build five new low-income apartment buildings with almost 1,500 units on and around West Boulevard. The fallout helped kick off the boom in “scattered site” housing that spread throughout the city, with low-income developments of 50 apartments or fewer tucked into multiple neighborhoods.
My Take: We hear a lot of policy makers preach about preserving the character of Charlotte as though everything has looked this way since dinosaurs were young. What if this had been the watch cry in 1917, when homes did not have toilets installed as standard; a horrifying situation which didn’t change until a 1948 polio outbreak infected everyone because of raw sewage floods.
And what about this quote from the article, “There’s a common perception that nobody’s ever seriously tried to fix affordable housing here. Hanchett shows [us] that in every decade, developers, mayors, community activists, and federal officials have tried all sorts of different policies. Their goals are always to incentivize, build, or subsidize their way out of a simple math problem: Some people don’t make enough money to afford a decent place to live.”
With that said REBIC hopes we can start to look at the problem from several different viewpoints, maybe from voices we’ve never included like Tom Hanchett. Then, we must stop looking at preservation of character as an appropriate solution and realize it’s just an attempt to control property rights, not an answer. We can’t just act like being a steward of a tree or a neighborhood architectural theme is virtuous to the point of effectiveness. Let’s all read this and let history begin to open our minds.
American Airlines Newsroom. Powering Connections: American Airlines Keeps North Carolina Thriving.
The airline’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) hub operation injects more than $30 billion into the North Carolina economy and supports nearly 150,000 jobs statewide, according to a recent study.
American’s sustained growth has propelled CLT to its status as the third-largest connecting hub airport in the country, giving CLT more capacity relative to local demand than any other similarly sized city.
The breadth of air service at the CLT hub provides significant economic benefits to the state, including billions in foreign direct investments and thousands of well-paying jobs.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — American Airlines is one of the biggest economic engines in North Carolina. Its hub operation at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) independently contributes more than $30billion to the state economy and supports nearly 150,000 jobs statewide, according to a recent economic impact study conducted by North Carolina State University’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE).American is the largest carrier in North Carolina, operating the most flights and more than 70% of all available seats in the state.
The airport is home to American’s second-largest hub, where it operates approximately 90% of departures. CLT plays a significant role in the airline’s operation, connecting tens of millions of customers each year to its global network through the airport. That connecting power brings numerous benefits to North Carolina while providing substantial air service and thousands of well-paying jobs, all of which have a cumulative effect on the state’s economy.
“Fueled by sustained growth over more than four decades, our commitment to Charlotte is unwavering, and that strong foundation is only the beginning,” said American’s Senior Vice President of CLT Operations Ralph Lopez Massas. “Our hub operation positions North Carolina at the center of the world for tourism, events and business development, and those benefits extend far beyond the airline and deep into the communities we serve. We are incredibly proud of our contributions to the state economy, thanks to our strong partnership with CLT Airport and the 15,500 CLT-based team members who are the driving force behind our success.”
A connection factory
Of the 50 million customers American served at CLT last year, approximately 70% were passengers connecting through the airport. That connection factory enables the airline to operate significantly more air service than is warranted by local demand alone, which brings a host of other benefits for:
Customers: American’s CLT hub gives North Carolinians more connectivity and access to more destinations and choices in departure times.
Local businesses: Robust air service provides more opportunities to travel and host clients from across the globe.
The state and the airport: Connecting customers generate state and local taxes and revenue for the airport, while the size of the operation involves thousands of well-paying jobs in the state.
Business development: Companies value air service when looking to expand or relocate, and the breadth of service provided by a hub operation makes Charlotte a more attractive place for economic development.
Our research demonstrates the significant role of North Carolina’s commercial service airports — and the American Airlines hub in particular — in the state’s economy. Having an airline hub and the exceptional level of air service that comes with it connects our businesses to opportunities, visitors to our communities and North Carolinians to friends and family,” said Ryan Hassett, Economist at ITRE. “Put simply, the American hub at CLT contributes significantly to North Carolina’s economy. It supports more than2.75% of the state’s employment and 2.5% of the state’s economic output, while providing substantial tax revenue to our state and local governments”
Supporting 150,000 jobs statewide
The ITRE study reports that the economic output of the hub supports nearly 150,000 jobs statewide. Since 2020, American has grown its workforce by more than 25% at CLT. It also employs 1,400 team members in North Carolina at two reservation call centers and operates a flight training center, maintenance operation and crew member bases.
In addition to air service, the study identified economic impact from American’s employment, procurement, facilities and cargo operations, as well as the airline’s contribution to capital expenditures. Visitor spending also contributes to its economic impact, which includes revenue generated from activities like concessions and parking at the airport.
“American’s Charlotte hub connects North Carolinians to the rest of the country and the world, contributing more than $30 billion to North Carolina’s economy and supporting nearly 150,000 jobs,” said North Carolina Governor Josh Stein. “North Carolina’s strong business climate and workforce continue to draw companies here, and we are grateful for the role that American plays in our success and proud that so many of their employees call North Carolina home.”
PSA headquarters relocates to Charlotte
In addition to the $30 billion economic output, the ITRE study identified nearly $230 million attributed to one of American’s wholly owned regional carriers, PSA Airlines, relocating its headquarters from Dayton, Ohio, to Charlotte. The 400 jobs relocated to North Carolina are expected to support an additional 470 jobs with suppliers and businesses across the state. The headquarters will generate $10 million in state and local tax revenue every year.
A global destination
American, along with its wholly owned regional carriers, operates more than 670 peak-daily departures from CLT and about 810 daily departures statewide. American serves more than 170 destinations from CLT, including 41 international destinations, like new service to Athens, Greece, starting in June.
With 10 daily flights from CLT to Europe, including to Dublin; Frankfurt, Germany; London; Madrid; Paris; Munich; Rome; and Athens, the study found that American’s trans-Atlantic service is responsible for thousands of annual overseas visitors to the state that would otherwise not have visited and has spurred foreign business development across the state, particularly with German-based companies. The airline also provides four daily flights to London-Heathrow (LHR) — one from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and three from CLT.
The CLT hub has also facilitated growth across eight North Carolina airports, like RDU, as well as Asheville (AVL) and Wilmington (ILM) —both of which have grown more than 200% and 100% respectively over the past two decades thanks to multiple daily nonstop flights to CLT and other destinations.
Attracting tourism and major events
Robust air service makes cities more attractive for tourism and events. As the Official Airline of the PGA Championship taking place in Charlotte this weekend, American is proud to bring golf fans from across its network to enjoy the event in the Queen City. The airline sponsors other significant events that will bring travelers to the state through its designation as the Official Airline of U.S. Soccer, the Official North American Airline Supplier of FIFA World Cup 26TM and its partnership with the Charlotte Sports Foundation.
Capital improvement projects
American has invested $3 billion in infrastructure projects at CLT currently underway to enhance the customer experience. This includes the Terminal Lobby Expansion (TLE) project set to be completed by the end of the year, as well as the fourth parallel runway expected to be commissioned in2027. The TLE offers a modernized ticket lobby, expanded passenger security screening checkpoints and new induction locations for checked baggage. Once complete, the new runway will allow American to increase capacity to meet future demand and better serve customers.
View the full report on the economic contributions of American’s hub on the ITRE website.
About American Airlines Group
As a leading global airline, American Airlines offers thousands of flights per day to more than 350 destinations in more than 60countries. The airline is a founding member of the oneworld® alliance, whose members serve more than 900 destinations around the globe. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. Learn more about what’s happening at American by visiting news.aa.com and connect with American @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines. To Care for People on Life’s Journey®.
My Take: American Airlines is a huge driver of our regional economy. The stats laid out above really bring this into focus. Those of us with easy access to its Charlotte hub are benefit daily from their operations in a myriad of ways. They have contributed significantly to our community over many, many years, and I hope it continues for a long time to come. The Charlotte City Council and management team at Charlotte Douglas International Airport should keep this in mind when making any future decisions that may impact this valued industry partner and its ability to continue to provide a demonstrably valuable service.
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