News for March, 2009
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
Their proposal to increase transit ridership and revenue in the Chicago region by implementing a transit pass program earned CNT interns, Olympia Moy and Will Glassberg, “runner-ups” in Chicagoland Chamber’s contest to generate ideas for how to achieve a billion transit rides a year in the Chicago region.
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce’s InnovateNow initiative, in partnership with InnoCentive, has chosen the winners of a global open-innovation challenge aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions released by automobiles by increasing local transit ridership to 1 billion rides a year. The challenge generated more than 125 proposals from locations as far away as Kenya, Australia and Japan.
Read more »
Posted in General News | No Comments »
Friday, March 20th, 2009
CNT’s mantra that housing affordability needs to include transportation costs, and position that housing and transportation need to be considered together in planning for sustainable communities, have been heard and acted upon in unprecedented ways in key places in the federal government.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Secretary, Shaun Donovan, and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary, Ray LaHood, both testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development and announced the creation of an interagency partnership to promote sustainable communities through coordinating housing and transportation policy and investments.
CNT’s work—both our advocacy positions and the data from our research—was cited several times in their testimonies to demonstrate the key relationship between housing affordability and transportation costs.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, H+T, Transportation and Community Development | 8 Comments »
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Today and tomorrow, the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will listen to Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of HUD, Ray LaHood and Shaun Donovan, respectively, as well as a panel of experts, including Congress for the New Urbanism President, John Norquist, explain the importance of transit oriented development and green building practices in creating more affordable and livable communities.
Listen to the webcast, Livable Communities, Transit Oriented Development, and Incorporating Green Building Practices into Federal Housing and Transportation Policy at 1:00 PM CST today (Secretaries LaHood and Donovan) and tomorrow’s (panel of experts) at 9:00 AM CST.
More information:
Secretary Donovan’s testimony and HUD Press Release.
HUD and DOT Partnership: Sustainable Communities Press Release
Posted in General News, H+T, Location efficiency | 2 Comments »
Friday, March 13th, 2009
On March 12, a provision was successfully added to the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009 - one that includes a stormwater management feature that CNT has advocated for and demonstrated through projects like at “Our Lady Gate of Heaven”. By a vote of 317 to 101, legislation encouraging the use of bioswales and other sustainable stormwater management systems to improve the quality of stormwater runoff was added into H.R. 1262.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Natural Resources, Our Lady Gate of Heaven | No Comments »
Friday, March 13th, 2009
On Wednesday evening, along with other three journalists who, like their predecessor Studs Terkel, “go the extra mile to report news”, Community Media Workshop Founder and Director, Thom Clark, was honored with a 2009 Studs Terkel Award. Thom founded the Community Media Workshop to provide communications coaching to grassroots groups, arts organizations, and other nonprofits to diversify the voices in the news, on the Web, and other public forums.
Read more »
Posted in General News | No Comments »
Friday, March 6th, 2009
On March 3, CNT staff took part in a press conference in Springfield, IL to help outline the policy agenda for the new briefing book released by the Illinois Environmental Council. Priorities for a Healthful Illinois: 2009 Illinois Environmental Briefing Book offers specific policies and legislative action for these top environmental priorities: global warming and energy, open space and natural areas, transportation, environmental health and clean water.
Read more »
Posted in Climate, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Some Communities Around Chicago Save from Greater Access to Public Transit Activists Call for Action from Governor Quinn
(Chicago, IL) Today Chicago residents celebrate Transportation Freedom Day, the date a typical area household has earned enough to cover its transportation costs for the year. To mark the occasion, transit advocacy groups called for Governor Quinn and Mayor Daley to prioritize investment in transit.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Press Releases | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
On March 5, Chicago residents celebrated Transportation Freedom Day, the date a typical area household has earned enough to cover its transportation costs for the year. To mark the occasion, CNT joined Illinois Public Interest Research Group (ILPIRG), Active Transportation Alliance, and Midwest High Speed Rail Association in calling upon the Governor Quinn and Mayor Daley to prioritize investment in transit. At a press conference at Union Station, CNT Research Director Linda Young stated “that families living in transit-rich neighborhoods can save up to $2,500 a year versus those living in dispersed communities with no access to transit.”
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Transportation and Community Development | No Comments »
