Debra D. Campbell will deliver a free public lecture on “Planning for Transit and Transit-Oriented Development” on Tuesday (Feb. 17) at 2 p.m. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The lecture, to be given in Room 3411 of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union, will be preceded by a reception at 1:30 pm.
Debra D. Campbell will deliver a free public lecture on “Planning for Transit and Transit-Oriented Development” on Tuesday (Feb. 17) at 2 p.m. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The lecture, to be given in Room 3411 of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union, will be preceded by a reception at 1:30 pm.
Campbell is planning director for the City of Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County. Governing Magazine recognized Campbell with its 2007 Public Official of the Year Award, partly for her role in managing the development of the city’s new light rail system. The rail lines, stations and surrounding transit-oriented development comprise a $5 billion project, the largest single infrastructure endeavor in Charlotte's history, according to the magazine. The Charlotte Observer called Campbell “the most powerful person in local government you’ve never heard of.”
Opponents of the project mounted a high-profile campaign opposing the half-cent sales tax that has funded the light-rail project. Campbell, who advocates guiding Charlotte by broader smart-growth policies, says she hopes to use transportation patterns as a way to shape the city’s growth.
Campbell’s talk will be part of a 2008-2009 lecture series sponsored by the Carolina Society for Future Leaders, the UNC-Chapel Hill Student Congress, the Master of Public Administration program and the School of Government.
School of Government contacts: Carl Stenberg, (919) 962-2377, stenberg@sog.unc.edu; Ellen Bradley, (919)843-6527 or bradley@sog.unc.edu
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu