Charlotte is booming. New towers rise, new residents arrive and the city’s economic engine hums. But beneath the growth, some longtime residents ask a deeper question: What has been lost along the way?
In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Steve Dunn talks with Robert FitzPatrick — a Charlotte native, longtime community organizer and nationally known expert on pyramid schemes and consumer fraud, and author of “Charlotte: Searching for Soul in a Booming Southern City.”
FitzPatrick explores what he means by “soul” — a city’s sense of place, identity and shared ownership — and argues that Charlotte’s singular focus on economic growth has come at a cost. From the destruction of Brooklyn in the 1960s to battles over Freedom Park, FitzPatrick traces how commercial priorities have shaped, and sometimes overshadowed, civic life. In this conversation, they also discuss:
The rise of what FitzPatrick calls Charlotte’s dominant commercial ideology
Why economic development often outweighs neighborhood and cultural concerns
The fight to stop the Sugar Creek Canal and protect Freedom Park
The concept of “fireflies of soul” — moments when residents push back and prevail
Whether Charlotte’s growth model is sustainable in an era of remote work and changing downtown economics
What it would take for residents to reclaim a stronger sense of civic identity
We hope you enjoy the conversation with Robert FitzPatrick.
This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast was produced by Lindsey Banks.
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