<P> Despite having several urban centers, these cities are smaller than many more well - known metropolitan areas across the United States . So while these urban centers have many similar amenities to larger cities, the options and variability can be limited . Due to this, there is a very high unmet demand for modern urban amenities and entertainment . This unmet demand has led to nearly constant construction and development in areas such as RTP and Charlotte for several decades . These construction projects include planned subdivisions, restaurants, strip malls, highway expansions, new schools, and business parks . </P> <P> While there are several dense urban centers across North Carolina, much of North Carolina remains rural . Dense forests cover much of North Carolina as well as reclaimed land used for agricultural purposes . Rural North Carolina tends to lean towards traditional Southern culture . Some common recreational activities in rural North Carolina include horseback riding, swimming in rivers and lakes, target shooting and hunting, riding trails on ATVs and modified trucks (also called off - roading), extensive gardening (many families operate small scale farms). Many rural North Carolinians jokingly refer to themselves as rednecks . </P> <P> A nationally - famous cuisine from North Carolina is pork barbecue and bacon . In Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar - based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus using both white and dark meat . While there is not one town in Eastern NC that can claim to be the indisputable "capital" of Eastern North Carolina barbecue, the medium - sized cities of Greenville and Goldsboro and their surrounding communities boast the highest concentrations of highly ranked establishments . The annual Newport Pig Pickin' (the largest whole pig cooking contest in North Carolina) is held featuring primarily eastern - style barbecue . Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a tomato and vinegar based sauce and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used . The "capital" of western Carolina barbecue is indisputably the Piedmont Triad town of Lexington, home of the Lexington Barbecue Festival which brings in over 100,000 visitors each October . </P> <P> The University of North Carolina system encompasses 16 public universities including North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, UNC - Pembroke, UNC - Chapel Hill, Elizabeth City State University, East Carolina University, Western Carolina University, Winston - Salem State University, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, Fayetteville State University and Appalachian State University . Along with its public universities, North Carolina has 58 public community colleges in its community college system . There are also a number of private colleges, for example Duke University in Durham, Wake Forest University in Winston - Salem, Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina and Elon University, in Elon, North Carolina . </P>

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