Melissa Currie

The University of Alabama
Adjunct Instructor

Biography

Melissa Currie is a licensed landscape architect in the states of Virginia and Alabama, CLARB certified, and an accredited professional of the Congress of New Urbanism.  She has extensive educational and professional experience in the land planning, landscape architecture, and civil engineering fields.  Prior to coming to UNC Charlotte for doctoral studies in geography and urban regional analysis, she was an assistant professor of landscape architecture at Texas Tech University, teaching studios in urban design, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and regional planning.

Education

Doctorate in geography and urban regional analysis, UNC Charlotte; master of landscape architecture, concentration in urban design, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; bachelor of science in landscape architecture, magna cum laude, concentration in sustainable development; Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; associate degree, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, Fla.

Expertise

Melissa’s research interests include regional planning and how regions can transform themselves into a more sustainable model in which they are empowered to reverse decline and embrace the future; how communities can be rebuilt following disaster or collapse; and how the design of the built environment impacts mental and physical health.

Articles

  • Charlotte transit stations: realizing development potential?
    plancharlotte.org
    Jul 30, 2013
    Development patterns along Charlotte's Blue Line show a mixed bag of more low-density neighborhoods than planners recommend. That means the corridor is brimming with opportunity to develop more intensely, and in a way that puts walkable, diverse urban neighborhoods near transit. (Photo: Melissa Currie)
  • Charlotte transit stations: realizing development potential?
    ui.uncc.edu
    Jul 30, 2013
    Development patterns along Charlotte's Blue Line show a mixed bag of more low-density neighborhoods than planners recommend. That means the corridor is brimming with opportunity to develop more intensely, and in a way that puts walkable, diverse urban neighborhoods near transit. (Photo: Melissa Currie)
  • New homes tell the story of a growing region
    plancharlotte.org
    Jul 10, 2013
    It’s no secret the Charlotte region has seen a huge influx of newcomers, with homes built by the thousands. New Census data show the high percentage of homes that are only a few years old. With interactive, county-by-county data.
  • New homes tell the story of a growing region
    ui.uncc.edu
    Jul 10, 2013
    It’s no secret the Charlotte region has seen a huge influx of newcomers, with homes built by the thousands. New Census data show the high percentage of homes that are only a few years old. With interactive, county-by-county data.
  • A year later, were tornado lessons learned?
    plancharlotte.org
    Jun 24, 2013
    With tornado and storm season on us, what lessons were learned in the year since a sudden tornado blew through Harrisburg and eastern Mecklenburg County, injuring four people and destroying six homes? And what’s been rebuilt? (Photo: Melissa Currie)
  • A year later, were tornado lessons learned?
    ui.uncc.edu
    Jun 24, 2013
    With tornado and storm season on us, what lessons were learned in the year since a sudden tornado blew through Harrisburg and eastern Mecklenburg County, injuring four people and destroying six homes? And what’s been rebuilt? (Photo: Melissa Currie)
  • CONNECT-ing to a regional vision of growth
    plancharlotte.org
    May 31, 2013
    Aided by a $5 million federal grant, residents and businesses throughout the 14-county Charlotte region are engaged in a process to envision the region's best future and create a roadmap for getting there. This interactive article describes the process, plans and players for CONNECT Our Future. (Photo: Nancy Pierce)
  • CONNECT-ing to a regional vision of growth
    ui.uncc.edu
    May 31, 2013
    Aided by a $5 million federal grant, residents and businesses throughout the 14-county Charlotte region are engaged in a process to envision the region's best future and create a roadmap for getting there. This interactive article describes the process, plans and players for CONNECT Our Future. (Photo: Nancy Pierce)
  • Easy access to work? Charlotte’s not atop list
    plancharlotte.org
    Apr 09, 2013
    A new study of access to jobs via automobile, across the United States, ranks the Charlotte metro area near the bottom. Unlike simple congestion studies, this one looks at land use as well as the transportation system.  
  • Art is awesome. Poverty is not.
    plancharlotte.org
    Mar 19, 2013
    In conjunction with the photographic exhibit, Favelas: Architecture of Survival, the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture will hold a reception Friday, 6-8 p.m., at the Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte Center City.