The Right Moves

For every one of our mistakes, there is at least one triumph of foresight, says Gallis, a local planning consultant. Here's what he sees as Charlotte's top-five planning moves:

See "Back to the Future"

	1. HQs Uptown In the 1970s, shipping giant FedEx put its inter- national headquarters on the outskirts of its hometown, Memphis, and today its center city is not exactly known as vibrant. But Charlotte's major corporate citizens had the good civic sense to locate in the core.
	2. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Director Jerry Orr's plan to create a consolidated multimodal hub there solidifies Charlotte's position as the most important city between Atlanta and D.C.
	3. A "Civic Jewel" on South Tryon    The newly opened Levine Center for the Arts, composed of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, Knight Theater, and Mint Museum, form a civic plaza that will lead to additional development.
	4. UNCC PhDs Former chancellor Jim Woodward gets the credit for developing UNC-Charlotte into a major research campus, crucial in positioning Charlotte as a global economic competitor.
	5. Hub and Spokes Gallis articulated the idea of a regional transportation system with five corridors (north, south, southeast, northeast, and west) emanating from uptown, and he applauds leaders for not only listening to him, but also seizing upon it as the framework for growth.