Jeff Michael

UNC Charlotte Urban Institute
Director

Biography

Jeff Michael is director of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.  A planner and attorney by training, his professional experience includes extensive work around land use, sustainable development and land conservation  issues. Prior to coming to the institute in 2003, Jeff served as director of the Wildacres Leadership Initiative and the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations, one of North Carolina’s premier leadership programs.

A native of the Charlotte region (Stanly County), Jeff is often called upon by the news media and policy makers to share his professional and personal knowledge of the region, and to provide commentary on the economic, environmental and social issues confronting its communities. 

Jeff was named a William C. Friday Fellow in 1997 and an American Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2005 and has served on the boards of numerous statewide and regional organizations.

Education

JD, University of North Carolina School of Law
Master of Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.S. in Business Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Expertise

Land use law, land conservation, regional planning, sustainable economic development, leadership development, diversity/multicultural training
 

Articles

  • Can these programs bridge the gap between urban and rural leaders?
    ui.uncc.edu
    Sep 12, 2019
    Are rural leaders different than their urban counterparts? And how can programs that develop leaders bridge the gap between them, if indeed there is one?
  • Is there a leadership deficit in rural communities and small towns?
    ui.uncc.edu
    Sep 11, 2019
    “The more successful towns have a champion. The really successful ones have multiple champions.” What happens, however, if a community doesn’t have champions to lead it forward? And do our rural communities have such champions - or are they losing their leaders?
  • The Carolinas Urban-Rural Connection: Strengthening ties to revitalize communities
    ui.uncc.edu
    Aug 28, 2019
    Today it’s hard for many, especially newcomers, to imagine Charlotte’s interdependency with the small towns and rural communities surrounding Mecklenburg County.  But Charlotte’s emergence as a New South city was the result of a manufacturing economy established throughout the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  That economy was mostly built on textiles, with its concentration not in the urban core (as was the case with Pittsburgh’s steel industry or Detroit’s auto sector), but in small towns scattered throughout the Carolina Piedmont – where brick textile mills were built along the banks of the South Fork River in Gaston County and the Great Falls of the Catawba in South Carolina, and along the rail lines that stretched in every direction to places like Kannapolis and Hamlet.
  • Why do old places matter? A Mecklenburg native explores the question.
    plancharlotte.org
    Aug 06, 2019
    Why do we care about old places, and why should we work to preserve them? A Huntersville native and prominent national preservationist takes a look at those questions through a lens that stretches from Eastland Mall to the historic wonders of Rome. 
  • Why do old places matter? A Mecklenburg native explores the question.
    ui.uncc.edu
    Aug 06, 2019
    Why do we care about old places, and why should we work to preserve them? A Huntersville native and prominent national preservationist takes a look at those questions through a lens that stretches from Eastland Mall to the historic wonders of Rome. 
  • Ely Portillo joins Urban Institute outreach team
    ui.uncc.edu
    Apr 02, 2019
    The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute is excited to announce that Ely Portillo, longtime reporter for The Charlotte Observer, will join the institute as Assistant Director for Outreach & Strategic Partnerships, beginning April 15. 
  • Golden Anniversary year: Celebrating our history, changing to greet our future
    plancharlotte.org
    Dec 31, 2018
    As the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019, we are reflecting on how our history and growth mirror both the region we focus on and the university that nurtures us.
  • Golden Anniversary year: Celebrating our history, changing to greet our future
    ui.uncc.edu
    Dec 31, 2018
    As the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019, we are reflecting on how our history and growth mirror both the region we focus on and the university that nurtures us.
  • Mary Newsom retiring as Director of Urban Policy Initiatives
    plancharlotte.org
    Oct 10, 2018
    When Mary Newsom retired as the institute’s Director of Urban Policy Initiatives on October 1, not only did the institute lose a trusted and respected colleague of seven years, but the Charlotte region lost one of its most important journalistic voices for quality planning, urban design and the value of public engagement to inform public policy.
  • Mary Newsom retiring as Director of Urban Policy Initiatives
    ui.uncc.edu
    Oct 10, 2018
    When Mary Newsom retired as the institute’s Director of Urban Policy Initiatives on October 1, not only did the institute lose a trusted and respected colleague of seven years, but the Charlotte region lost one of its most important journalistic voices for quality planning, urban design and the value of public engagement to inform public policy.