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STEELE CREEK NEWS
Population Booming
in Steele Creek, Study Shows
(September
10, 2006) Last week the Charlotte Department of Neighborhood
Development released results from the
Neighborhood Quality of Life Study that is conducted by the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte every two years.
The study evaluates social, crime, physical, and economic conditions
in Charlotte's neighborhoods and is used by local government
to evaluate neighborhood conditions and make changes to improve
neighborhood vitality.
The Neighborhood Quality of Life Study divides the City and its
future annexation areas into 173 Neighborhood Statistical Areas (NSAs).
The study examines 20 neighborhood variables in each NSA mostly collected from
local databases maintained by the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg
County, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The research converts the
individual statistical values into NSA neighborhood-ranking
categories of stable, transitioning, or challenged.
As the map to the
right shows, NSAs in Steele Creek are classified as stable or
transitioning. Two NSAs have been trending up since the 2002 study
(100 and 105) and the others have shown no change in classification. See more results
on the city's
Charlotte Neighborhood Quality of Life web page. The
study excludes non-residential areas, although the new Ayrsley
development is in the excluded area.
What the study
report fails to note is the one big change that is occurring in
Steele Creek: the population is booming. The 2000 study showed a
total population of about 20,900 in Steele Creek. The population
reported in the 2006 study is about 37,500, an increase of almost
80% in six years.
The table below
shows population reported for the six NSAs entirely within Steele
Creek and uses one half of the reported population for the three
NSAs partly within Steele Creek. Decreases reported in NSAs 100 and
107 could be due to removal of housing due to airport expansion and
noise abatement buyouts, but the Berewick and Stowe Creek
developments are in the southern end of NSA 107, and a recent
increase here would be expected. Additionally, the total population
of Steele Creek from the 2000 Census was 25,282, so these counts may
be low.
Population counts for NSAs in Steele Creek |
NSA |
Study Years |
2000 |
2002 |
2004 |
2006 |
100 (50%) |
968 |
753 |
881 |
1497 |
101 |
2484 |
2982 |
3743 |
5125 |
102 |
3233 |
4122 |
4536 |
4537 |
103 |
1892 |
3001 |
3492 |
4136 |
104 |
2278 |
4052 |
5337 |
6753 |
105 |
2122 |
1897 |
1972 |
2176 |
106 |
2694 |
3114 |
5359 |
6854 |
107 (50%) |
2036 |
1546 |
1639 |
1602 |
199 (50%) |
3173 |
3224 |
4099 |
4867 |
Total Population |
20880 |
24691 |
31058 |
37547 |
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Nonetheless,
the population counts in the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study
confirm what is apparent: the residential population of Steele Creek
is increasing at a very rapid rate. New retail and service
businesses have been following the influx of people. New houses,
apartments, and condominiums continue to fill the former dairy farms
and other open spaces in Steele Creek. Population continues to move
to Charlotte, and Steele Creek still has plenty of land
available. So growth will continue for many years.
Also see the
following stories in the Charlotte Observer:
City Neighborhoods show improvement (9/6/06) and
Looking at Quality of Life (9/9/01).
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