Charleston Livability

08/14/2026

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Trek Store Group Rides: 8/15 - 8/19🚴
https://mailchi.mp/trekbikesofmountpleasant/weeklyrideemail-13368096

08/12/2026

C.1855 illustration captioned "The City of Charleston South Carolina." Published in volume 1 of the first edition of George Washington Colton's 1855 Atlas of the World .

08/10/2026

This year's flood of Charleston area nominations to the National Register of Historic Places reflects the diversity of our local history as well as the diverse benefits such recognition can bring. (Full story below.)

08/07/2026

Knowing earlier is far less stressful than later.

Understand flood insurance in Charleston before buying a home, including flood zones, elevation, private market policies, and property-specific risk.

08/04/2026

Fort Pemberton Park is now open on James Island – a fishing dock, kayak launch, walking paths, and a picnic shelter.
The park was built on a former Civil War-era fort with amazing views of the Stono River and its wildlife.

08/03/2026

Jane Jacobs believed children should be integrated into the everyday life of a neighborhood, not confined to designated spaces. She argued that unstructured neighborhood life, with children playing on sidewalks and streets, benefits both children and adults by fostering community and connection.

Jane Jacobs argued that children belong in the everyday life of a neighborhood, not only in places set aside specifically for them.

In ''The Death and Life of Great American Cities', she writes, “Spaces and equipment do not rear children. Only people rear children and assimilate them into civilized society.”

A playground can be wonderful, but it can’t replace the informal life of a block: kids swapping stories on a neighbor’s steps, tossing a football in the street, riding bikes for popsicles, or watching adults greet each other and go about ordinary routines.

For Jacobs, children playing on sidewalks and neighborhood streets are not outside civic life. They are part of it, adding activity, attention, and liveliness to the place around them.

That kind of unstructured neighborhood life helps children learn how a place works, and it gives adults more reason to notice, care, and stay connected to the street.

Where have you seen children become part of the everyday life of a neighborhood?

07/31/2026

Join Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium by Clemson Extension and Dorchester County Parks and Recreation for a hands-on Wetland Garden Workshop at Pine Trace Park in Summerville, SC. This workshop will introduce participants to the design, installation, and maintenance of wetland gardens, and to how they can serve as functional landscapes that help manage stormwater while supporting native plants and wildlife.

Participants will learn how wetland gardens differ from traditional rain gardens, explore native plant selections suited for wet conditions, gain practical knowledge about planting techniques and long-term maintenance, and gain hands-on experience in an installation activity where participants will help plant native species and install garden features.

This workshop is intended for Master Rain Gardener course graduates, Master Naturalist, Master Gardeners, the citizens of Charleston and Dorchester Counties, cities of Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Charleston, North Charleston, and the towns of James Island, Lincolnville, Sullivan’s Island, Mount Pleasant, and Summerville

Date: September 24, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Pine Trace Park, Summerville, SC (303 Chandler Creek Rd, Summerville, SC 29485)
Hosts: Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium by Clemson Extension & Dorchester County Parks and Recreation

Registration: https://wetlandgarden.eventbrite.com
Registration is required. The registration fee is $50 per participant and includes workshop materials and hands-on instruction. Registration closes on September 18.

Participants should come prepared for outdoor activities. Please wear weather-appropriate clothing, closed-toe shoes, and bring water, sunscreen, and gardening gloves if desired.

For questions, please contact Samantha Porzelt at [email protected]

07/28/2026

The Charleston Single House features a narrow, side-facing layout influenced by Caribbean architecture.
Key design elements include side piazzas and central hallways – this style maximizes lot use, improves ventilation, and offers fire protection, reflecting historical and cultural adaptation.

The Charleston Single House, unique to Charleston, SC, features a narrow, side-facing layout influenced by Caribbean architecture. Key design elements include side piazzas and central hallways. This style maximizes lot use, improves ventilation, and offers fire protection, reflecting historical and....

07/26/2026

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Charleston basket weaver just broke a Guinness World Record (more info below)

07/24/2026

Jane Jacobs believed that trust in a city begins with casual public contact, such as nodding to a jogger or smiling at a baby. These small, unplanned encounters reinforce a sense of community and contribute to a web of trust – whether on the streets of Downtown Charleston or in a quiet suburban neighborhood.

Jane Jacobs wrote that trust in a city often starts with “casual public contact.”

In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she describes the small encounters that happen at the local level, most of them unplanned and many of them tied to errands.

You nod at someone jogging past, smile at the baby in a stroller, or recognize a face you weren’t expecting to see, and even when it doesn’t turn into a conversation, that small exchange reinforces the feeling that people on the street are seeing one another.

Jacobs wasn’t arguing that city life should work like a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business; part of the beauty of city living is that people can keep a private life while still connecting in small ways.

The barista, the woman who runs a cafe, and the dad who’s always walking his fussy baby don’t have to be close friends; because they’re part of the street’s ordinary, everyday life, they’re already part of the web of trust .

When streets are designed so that people stay inside their cars, those small points of contact disappear before that web has a chance to form.

Where have you felt that kind of web of trust in your own town, and what helped create it?