Accomplishments
Over 30 years, CNT has been able to research, measure, implement and invent new approaches to urban challenges. We have developed innovative tools that help individuals to make better choices and communities to make better plans. Here are our highlights of 2010!
PRESENTING FRESH IDEAS
›› Produced Penny Wise Pound Fuelish, a guide to our H+T® Affordability Index, which highlights key findings associated with the Index and practical applications for its use.
›› Released Driving: A Hard Bargain, a custom H+T analysis of the Chicago region, which demonstrates how the region can accommodate demographic and economic growth in more sustainable ways.
›› Released the Green TIME Zone, a report that proposes a strategic development approach for Chicago’s south suburbs focused on transit- and cargo-oriented development, green manufacturing and environmentally sustainable development.
›› Released What We Learned From the Stimulus, using the latest data on stimulus spending to show that funds spent on public transportation were a more effective job creator than stimulus funds spent on highways.
›› Provided 283 municipalities in the Chicago region with Energy and Emissions Profiles, documenting community-wide energy use and emissions.
›› Researched and drafted several sections of Illinois EPA’s Green Infrastructure Study and provided recommendations. IEPA submitted the report to the General Assembly and Governor with commitments to act on most of the recommendations, including the establishment of statewide performance standards for managing stormwater in urban and urbanizing areas.
›› Showed the relationship of transit-oriented development to greenhouse gas reductions, with the release of Transit-Oriented Development and the Potential for VMT-related Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction.
›› Provided technical assistance on greenhouse gas accounting to the Chicago Department of Environment and continued to work to implement the Chicago Climate Action Plan.
›› Completed an analysis of residential development, H+T costs, foreclosure issues and job centers for the regions of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, OH and identified high priority development opportunities that leverage undervalued freight and transit infrastructure.
›› Published Greenhouse Gas emissions in Chicago: Emissions inventories and reduction strategies for Chicago and its metropolitan region in the Journal of Great Lakes Research.
DESIGNING NEW TOOLS
›› Expanded the H + T Index to 337 metro areas, covering 80% of the U.S. population.
›› Launched the TOD Database providing over 40,000 data points for 4,160 fixed rail stations.
›› Partnered with Walk Score to provide their users with transportation cost information based on our H+T Affordability Index.
›› Launched Abogo, a tool designed to help home-seekers discover the true cost of transportation of different home locations and make better decisions about where to live.
›› Awarded a competitive Doris Duke Charitable Fund grant to develop MyHomeEQ – a tool to make it easy for homeowners to make energy improvements to their homes.
›› Featured in the local action room of the Chicago Field Museum’s Climate Change exhibit.
›› Became a Strategic Partner of the Home Depot Foundation’s Sustainable Cities Institute, which is offering state-of-the-art information about making cities sustainable.
CHANGING POLICY
›› Produced a formal set of recommendations for the City of Chicago’s mayoral and aldermanic candidates, and collaborated with partner organizations to produce a joint transportation-only platform for City candidates in advance of the February 2011 election.
›› Influenced the Go TO 2040 Plan of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning in the areas of mobility, land use, energy efficiency and natural resources by providing background data and best practices related to public policy and programs.
›› Advocated for the passage of the Illinois Housing and Transportation Affordability Act under which five state agencies, will take the combined cost of housing and transportation into consideration when making investment and siting decisions.
›› Supported the Transportation Housing Affordability Transparency (THAT) Act, which will provide the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the resources it needs to increase cost transparency for consumers and policymakers.
›› Obtained an important amendment to an existing Illinois EPA bill to ensure there are funds set aside in both State Revolving Fund programs for green project reserves.
›› Participated in providing a “Plan B” for the Obama administration to demonstrate its leadership and re-tool its role in supporting state and local governments in creating better solutions to address climate change.
›› Supported the Livable Communities Act, a bill to strengthen communities and increase housing affordability for families by encouraging sustainable development.
IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS
›› Helped secure $2.35 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to increase capacity for transit- and cargo-oriented development projects in the south suburbs.
›› Secured a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency award of an additional $1 million for South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association’s Revolving Loan Fund by committing the first $1 million to brownfield projects in Blue Island and Harvey, IL.
›› Raised funds to launch an electric vehicle program that will be powered by renewables and involve locating 15 solar canopies in neighborhoods across Chicago.
›› Test drove two new electric cars—the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Ford Think—as we invest in expanding I-GO’s fleet to run entirely on renewable energy.
›› Participated on the advisory committee that developed funding priorities for IEPA’s new $5 Million Green Infrastructure Grant (GIG) Program that will fund innovative stormwater projects. This year IEPA received 155 applications seeking $50 Million from the program fund, demonstrating the high demand for such projects.
›› Selected to coordinate the implementation of a $25 million dollar federal grant that will fund regional energy efficiency retrofits, leverage local investments, and create more than 2,000 jobs.
›› Helped poise Chicago’s south suburbs to benefit from USDOT’s $100 million investment into the CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) program by helping the suburbs re-envision development with TOD/COD principles.
BY THE NUMBERS
79: Conferences and workshops around the country that we presented the H+T Index at, including the annual meeting of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO).
$48 million: Money that I-GO members collectively saved because of their reduced ownership of vehicles. In addition, I-GO cars reduced CO2 emissions by 25,000 metric tons and 73% of members sold or postponed sale of a car.
3500: New members that I-GO added. I-GO also added cars to 5 new Chicago neighborhoods and 4 new suburbs.
16%: % on bills that participants in CNT Energy’s Dynamic Pricing Programs have saved, on average, since the program began. The programs have had over 10,750 participants, collectively saving around $3 million.
13,000: Jobs that the Green TIME Zone strategy aims to attract in the next 10 years, totaling around $2.3 billion in new income.
8 inches: Rain that a July Chicago-area storm dumped in less than 48 hours, showing that green infrastructure performs even in extreme wet weather.
March 11: Chicago area’s Transportation Freedom Day—the date on which a typical area household has earned enough income to cover its annual transportation costs.
$10,000: Money the average building owner saves when they participate in the Energy Savers program, which helped local building owners upgrade more than 3,000 housing units, cutting energy costs by 30 percent on average.
337: Total metro areas in CNT’s H+T Index.
4,160: Rail stations the TOD Database covers.
51: buildings that CNT Energy recruited for Phase 2 of USGBC-IL Regional Green Building Case Study Project, completing energy use intensity (EUI) calculations for all 51 buildings.
1,137: People who “like” CNT on Facebook.
1,989: People who follow CNT on Twitter.
Past years:
