Starbucks, Dean and Deluca, and Home Depot: a steamy 
latte on your way in to Charlotte, prepared dinner on the way home, and 
enough toys to entertain the architectural dilettante on the weekends; 
What more could a happy suburban family ask for? The towns of Huntersville 
and Cornelius perfectly exemplify the ferocious urban sprawl that brings 
both developer and commuter further up I-77 North. While some see this 
as a natural occurrence resulting from recent boom in Charlotte, many 
Davidson residents see the encroaching development in a different light. 
Rather than signs of progress or "growth" the strip malls, chain restaurants, 
and outlet stores act as visual reminders of the invisible forces confronting, 
and threatening, Davidson’s distinct, proud small-town identity. Rather 
than suffer the same commercialized fate, townspersons have begun drawing 
battle plans and buttressing the gates. 
     In relation to town development and housing issues, two interrelated 
priorities characterize public discussion and city planning: first, the 
preservation of Davidson as an ethnically and economically inclusive community;
and second, maintaining a high quality of life by pacing private development 
with community improvements. The Davidson Housing Coalition (DHC), a non-profit
 corporation established by the town board in 1997, currently serves as the main
 force insuring that moderate income families can afford housing, now and in the 
future. The Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO), presently under 
discussion within City Hall, codifies not only much of the affordable housing 
plans, but sets a healthy pace for town development. The DHC and the APFO, 
taken together, present a viable and groundbreaking alternative to the fates of 
our surrounding neighbors. In defiance of the omnipresent corporate push, 
Davidson is taking a quaint, but highly effective, stand for small town America.