Over at NAC web partner PlanCharlotte, Josh McCann writes about the numerous uncompleted real estate developments — call them “zombie subdivisions” — that have sprung up around the Charlotte, N.C. metro area since the onset of the housing crisis.

Mostly located well outside the Interstate 485 “Charlotte Outer Loop,” these subdivisions show what happens when sprawling residential neighborhoods end up frozen in mid-construction.

Here’s McCann:

Grand stone gates give way to woodlands. Fire hydrants stand amid overgrown fields. Roads and sidewalks, some with weeds poking through the pavement, wind past expanses of empty lots. Wildflowers bloom inside brick foundations within sight of finished houses.

McCann goes on to discuss the efforts of developers behind five such developments (with idyllic names like Walnut Creek, Bell’s Crossing and Stonebridge) to regain their financial footing. You should make sure to read the post, but especially titillating is the slideshow of 40-plus photos taken by Nancy Pierce that accompany the story, all depicting several zombie subdivisions in various stages of (in)completion.

Below, we give you a taste of nine of Pierce’s photos. Click here to check out the rest.