Day: August 1, 2007

To hear a slew of national magazines tell it, the whole world is coming Asheville’s way. People want to visit here, to play here, to stay here. Where is all this going? Well, it depends on who you ask. In this special package of future-casting stories, the Mountain Xpress news staff took the question to … Read more

Predictions: • Telecommuting links Asheville to the world • Weather/climate-data firms flourish • Natural healing and organics Predicting the future is always dicey, but trying to figure out where Asheville’s economy will be in 2027 is akin to herding cats, with so many variables that can suddenly zig when you expect them to zag, local … Read more

Predictions: • Population shift fueled by retirees • County population crowds 300,000 If you happen to be living in Asheville two decades from now, you’ll probably notice that your neighbors are sort of old. Baby boomers—the biggest and wealthiest generation in American history—are starting to retire en masse, and a lot of them are cashing … Read more

Predictions: • Extensive loss of open space • Hotter summers, harsher storms • Biodiversity declines Speculating about Asheville’s environmental future entails at least as many questions as answers. Will carbon-dioxide emissions continue rising? Will privately owned open space and forestland continue to be cleared for development at the current rate? Will fossil fuels remain our … Read more

Predictions: • Cost of living could price artists out • “Far more creative opportunities” • Tech infrastructure needed for support Twenty years ago, few would have predicted that Asheville would be the hub of creativity that it is today. Downtown was a rundown, dirt-cheap and largely abandoned husk. Its financial future was murky at best, … Read more

Predictions: • Continuing tension between old and new • Parkway views essential to attracting visitors • Overuse could hamper outdoor recreation The same things that put Asheville on the tourism map stand a good chance of continuing to bring people here for decades to come—provided that we manage and maintain those attractions wisely. That’s the … Read more

Predictions: • Beyond the “end times” • “All you see is houses” • Ashevilleans refuse “the chip” What does the future hold? Many in Asheville ask that question—and some say they have the answer. The swami Good times after the end times: Virato. Look 20 years into the future, and there might not be anything … Read more