In 2019, the City of Charlotte became one of the twenty-five cities participating in the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge. The City requested assistance through the ULI Charlotte Technical Assistance Panel Program to investigate and refine the City’s desire to implement Resilience Innovation Districts (RIDs) as a policy tool for implementing the Strategic Action Plan (SEAP). This report highlights the panel work in July, 2020.

Support for this program was provided by the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge, Urban Land Institute’s Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 2019, the City of Charlotte became one of the twenty-five cities participating in the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge. The initiative aims to accelerate and deepen U.S. cities’ efforts to create the greatest climate impact through 2020 and showcase the benefits – like good jobs, cleaner air, and cost savings – that climate solutions bring.

What are TAPs: The ULI Charlotte Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) Program is an extension of the national ULI Advisory Services program. ULI’s advisory services panels provide strategic advice to clients (public agencies, nonprofit organizations, or nonprofit developers) on complex land use and real estate development issues. The program links clients to the knowledge and experience of ULI and its membership. Since 1947, ULI has harnessed the technical expertise of its members to help communities solve difficult land use, development, and redevelopment challenges. More than 700 panels have been conducted in 12 countries.

TAPs include extensive preliminary briefings followed by a two-day intensive working session in the client’s community. This TAP was held remotely via online video conferencing with staff members and stakeholders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A detailed briefing package and guided discussion is provided by the client to each TAP participant before the working sessions. ULI Panelists were unable to be present in Charlotte due to travel restrictions, but Panelists received a briefing from City staff and used maps and other digital materials to become familiar with the community. ULI Panelists used digital tools to interview stakeholders and address a set of questions proposed by the client about a specific development issue or policy barrier within a defined geographic area. The product of these sessions is a community presentation and a final report. This report presents highlights of the Panel’s responses to the client’s questions, as well as a diverse set of ideas and suggestions.

More information and other reports are available at https://charlotte.uli.org/resources/taps/.