Pineville, North Carolina

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Coordinates: 35°5′9″N 80°53′17″W / 35.08583, -80.88806
Pineville, North Carolina
Location of Pineville, North Carolina
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Mecklenburg
Area
- Total	3.6 sq mi (9.2 km²)
- Land	3.6 sq mi (9.2 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	587 ft (179 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,449
- Density	965.8/sq mi (372.9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	28134
Area code(s)	704
FIPS code	37-52220^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1021940^[2]

Pineville is a town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina located between Charlotte and York County, South Carolina. It is perhaps most famous as the birthplace of James K. Polk, the 11th U.S. president.

Pineville was changed forever when the initial segment of Interstate 485 opened to traffic -- a one mile stretch connecting interchanges at NC Highway 51 and South Boulevard. Although it was designed to divert through traffic around Charlotte via a freeway loop, I-485 incidentally passed directly through tiny Pineville.

In the years to follow, largely undeveloped land adjacent to Pineville's two I-485 interchanges exploded into what is presently the largest shopping district in North Carolina. With nearly 8,000,000 square feet (743,000 m²) of retail space, Pineville is home to the 1.1 million square foot Carolina Place Mall, at least two power centres and many strip malls, outparcels and free standing retailers.

The situation in Pineville can be considered a textbook example of urban sprawl. Because it was largely motivated by the introduction of a freeway to the area, the Pineville shopping district generally requires a motor vehicle for access. Despite 8,000,000 square feet (743,000 m²) of new retail space, the population of Pineville today, slightly less than 4,000, is barely greater than it was in 1990. This is partly a consequence of Pineville's geographic location. Sandwiched between Charlotte and the South Carolina state line, Pineville cannot expand its municipal boundaries. However, substantial undeveloped land was available prior to the introduction of I-485. Yet it was rapidly purchased by developers and approved for retail uses nearly without exception, quickly sealing Pineville's fate as a place that is known to many but home to few. This is an example of the criticism that sprawl causes excessive single use zoning.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Pineville is located at 35°5′9″N, 80°53′17″W (35.085737, -80.888167).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.2 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 3,449 people, 1,632 households, and 744 families residing in the town. The population density was 965.8 people per square mile (373.0/km²). There were 1,760 housing units at an average density of 492.8/sq mi (190.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 80.05% White, 10.00% African American, 0.20% Native American, 3.31% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 4.00% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.16% of the population.

There were 1,632 households out of which 19.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.4% were non-families. 42.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the town the population was spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 42.2% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $38,261, and the median income for a family was $45,500. Males had a median income of $30,833 versus $29,508 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,958. About 3.6% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.