Here’s the migration map for Charleston County; pretty surprising IMO – must be a humidity thing…

On a related note, checkout our page on urban growth in the Charleston area – an animated slideshow from the Strom Thurmond Institute looking at population growth here up to 2030.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Why would you leave Charleston? And where would you go?

The MPOSF is continuing their mission of “enhancing the quality of life for all East Cooper residents through education and preservation of open space by promoting protection, acquisition and stewardship” – resulting in the return of some green spaces to East Cooper.

Here’s the actual property: No, it’s not anywhere near the often visited shrimp boats or seafood restaurants, it’s the ditch at the other end of Shem Creek – you’ll recognize it if you take the Mark Clark back onto the by-pass everyday after work, because at one point or another, you’ll be sitting in traffic right there waiting to get in a lane.

Of course, any green space we can get is a good thing, and with groups like the MPOSF on our side, it’s always a little easier to fight against the unyielding development and traffic it inevitably brings (although most building is arguably on the outskirts of town nowadays).

“The East Bay Company has shown wonderful foresight and provides another great example of true community leadership by taking the steps necessary to preserve this land in perpetuity.” John Girault, MPOSF Exec. Dir.

On the topic of development, this video on the urban growth page here shows how municipalities could plan for population growth before time and money is wasted on construction and traffic down the road.

From the Shem Creek blog.

3.4 acres of Shem Creek preserved

We came in #8 on the ‘America’s 25 Strongest Housing Markets’ list this year.

For all the flippers and investors out there, don’t jump in yet though; according to Forbes, you should wait until the end of ’09 – maybe so they can buy everything up first. Of course, I don’t think the ‘blue blood’ S.O.B.* residents on the Charleston Battery will be going anywhere anytime soon!

Charleston stats qualifying it for the Forbes list this year

Now we can look forward to more development & traffic, and even less green spaces.

For the current real estate market around Shem Creek and surrounding Charleston areas, just check the Charleston Real Estate page.

Data was provided by Moody’s Economy.com. It looked at metro areas with populations over 500,000 to find those closest to recovery. The firm prepared forecasts through 2011 and compared them to prices in the second quarter of 2008, which are the latest figures available, to calculate how far prices will likely fall before reaching bottom. The percent figures are price drops between second quarter 2008 and the projected bottom. Cities are listed by their percent change to bottom.

* For those unfamiliar, no harm intended. S.O.B. is a common term here in Charleston – it stands for South of Broad, the main street through downtown Charleston that separates the wealthy from the very wealthy, i.e. prime property – including the Charleston Battery on the waterfront.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Charleston’s strong real estate market impresses Forbes

You won’t be sorry you made the short trip, but hurry while the canopy is still full and 1,500 years of nature’s work isn’t ruined.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Charleston’s Angel Oak Tree, 1,500 years of beauty

This is the most damaging earthquake to occur in the Southeast U.S. and one of the largest historic shocks in Eastern N.A. – USGS

Now that we are in hurricane season, that’s the first natural disaster that most people think of, but don’t forget, Charleston is overdue for a major earthquake too. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what that could do to many areas of the LowCountry. You can see Charleston earthquake projections on the USGS site yourself. Not to scare anybody, but that 100 year map is pretty alarming, especially considering that the last time there was a major earthquake in Charleston was back in 1886, and that’s outside the range of their map!

According to the latest census data out, it’s only getting more crowded around here, so be sure to leave early if authorities say to (avoiding the all day traffic jam my family sat in for Hurricane Floyd), and keep your emergency preparedness kit stocked and ready; you never know when you’re gonna need it!

From the Shem Creek blog.

SCDOT’s Charleston area evacuation routes

Here is the South Carolina traffic data by county which gives what we need to evaluate usage pattern projections. If SCDOT hasn’t looked at this technology yet, I encourage them to do so when they get a chance. It would not only help us get home safer and reduce traffic numbers, it would also improve the environment with fewer greenhouse gas emissions (CO2), add to the lifespan of our personal vehicles – since we wouldn’t be using them nearly as much – and add jobs to the local economy due to the infrastructure and manufacturing jobs necessary for implementing the technology.

You can view a gallery of pictures I grabbed from a Dual Mode Vehicle flickr photo stream which showcases the technology. There’s also a short video of Japan’s Dual Mode Vehicle in action here:

More Information

• The latest numbers from CARTA/li>
• Roadmap to Gridlock: The Failure of Long-Range Metropolitan Transportation Planning – the Cato Institute

I think this could be one possibility among many here in Charleston – we have plenty of rail laying around and we all know we have plenty of cars on the road. Just something to think about next time you’re stuck in rush hour traffic.

From the Shem Creek blog.

America could learn a lot from Japan’s transit system

To view a slideshow of urban growth projections for the Charleston area, click the link or image provided, but be warned, if you think traffic is bad now, “you ain’t seen nuttin’ yet!”

Mayor Riley is now talking about using rail cars to alleviate some of the dreaded highway traffic we see around here every workday. Charleston paying to benefit Mt. Pleasant? Now that’s a sign of the times…

And it’s a good thing too, because when Mt. Pleasant finishes last for walkers in S.C., you know it’s time for the local government to get things fixed. I mean, have you ever tried to cross Johnnie Dodds on foot? Good luck!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Urban Growth Projections for the Charleston area