City Smart: 50 miles of greenway by 2020 to Fortune 500 companies in Charlotte

• Parks & Rec. The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously (9-0) to endorse the master plan proposed by the parks and recreation department. The plan calls for another 50 miles of greenway by 2020 and 268 miles of new trails over the next 30 years. Check out the plan here.

• First in Flight…and suing the EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan requires states to reduce carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2031. States are supposed to submit their plans next year. Most states are requesting an extension, but not North Carolina. Instead, according to this article, North Carolina might just submit an insufficient plan and sue the EPA over the rule.
• Urban planning is not a spectator sport. Gil Penalosa, former park commissioner of Bogota, Columbia and founder of 8-80 Cities, will be in Charlotte this week. As park commissioner, he revitalized hundreds of parks and instituted Ciclovia, a weekly car-free street event to encourage people to ride their bikes and play outside. He has a 5-step guide for transforming cities, but our favorite is #4: Be Bold. You can hear him speak at the Neighborhood Living Room Grand Opening.

1 Happy Thing

• Jordan Moore is the bicycle program director, a new position with Sustain Charlotte. Jordan will coordinate all bike-centered efforts in Charlotte. You will likely see him at Biketoberfest this Saturday, which is a great opportunity to check out Charlotte from a different perspective.

1 Random Thing

• Charlotte has seven Fortune 500 companies in the metropolitan area: Bank of America, Lowe’s (Mooresville), Nucor, Duke Energy, Sonic Automotive, Sealed Air and Domtar (Fort Mill).