The invite-only conference, held at a former monastery on the Hudson River in New York, dug into the concept of resilience as it relates to cities in an era of changing climate and superstorms. Through panels, case studies, and workshops, the group looked at ways that local governments and civic organizations can strengthen neighborhood assets and connectivity.

Eric Klinenberg described how during both the Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 and Hurricane Sandy, neighborhood institutions, even informal ones, were a critical factor in the varying responses neighborhood-to-neighborhood.

Mindy Fullilove and the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance’s Eddie Bautista discussed the importance of considering the full historical context in neighborhoods of inequality, poverty, and the legacy of urban redevelopment when partnering to address climate change.

Chicago’s own Jennifer Hirsch highlighted the Chicago Community Climate Action Toolkit, which engages neighbors in developing climate solutions that meet the goals of the Chicago Climate Action plan along with the specific needs of their communities.

The group grappled with the role of local government in catalyzing behavior change, as well as how to support and enable individual climate actions while also providing systematic infrastructure improvements to enable more sustainable cities. The discussion underlined the importance of CNT’s work in creating and implementing place-based solutions on critical climate mitigation and adaptation issues in cities, including energy upgrades, sustainable stormwater management, and access to transportation alternatives.

Although climate change has become a sensitive issue politically, there are important steps that the President can take to advance the agenda without legislation. CNT encourages him to follow the recommendations contained in the PCAP and communicate directly with the American people about the importance of taking action on climate change and of the economic opportunities presented by making the transition towards a green, advanced energy economy.

The President should also engage with Congress to push for the passing of legislation capping carbon emissions or pricing carbon. These market based mechanisms, by promoting efficiency and encouraging the private sector to invest and innovate in new, green sources of energy, must be part of any comprehensive solution to the problem.

The decision surrounding the construction of the Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline presents the President with an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to tackling climate change. CNT urges him to kill the pipeline which does nothing but increase America’s dependency on polluting fossil fuels. Recent severe droughts and extreme weather conditions has reminded everyone of the urgency of the threat that we face. CNT encourages the President to follow through on the promises he has made as soon as possible.

Read the 2012 PCAP Action Plan here>>

Between 2007 and 2011, CNT was part of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP) that engaged hundreds of thought leaders to produce scores of recommendations on how the President of the United States could improve the nation’s climate and energy security. This new iteration of the project provides a roadmap of some of the executive branch actions that can be taken over the next four years. CNT’s ongoing work to enable sustainable communities directly aligns with PCAP’s agenda, including promoting energy efficiency, expanding mobility options, and empowering state and local leadership on climate action.   Read this year’s action plan here ››

Equity Express is an innovative workshop curriculum that helps participants achieve goals by lowering expenses, living healthy, and helping the environment. Participants share strategies to reduce expenses on energy, transportation, communication and food, and discover how their choices affect their health and the environment. Households have seen savings up to $200 a month.

Organizations have used the curriculum to put on their own Equity Express Workshops, or integrated the materials in to their existing programs. Organizations using Equity Express include:

• Centers for New Horizons
• Aunt Martha’s
• Trinity United Church of Christ
• North Side Community Federal Credit Union

The free Train-the-Trainer workshop is a 2-day session that brings in staff from a variety of organizations for interaction and discussion. We invite up to two trainers from each organization. Breakfast and lunch are provided. The workshop will be held at CNT’s offices, 2125 W. North Ave. Chicago, IL.

Space is limited, so please contact Adam Mays (amays@cnt.org, 773-815-5985) if you are interested in attending, or would like more information.

Download a fact sheet »

The Fisk Generating Station in Pilsen is the second biggest greenhouse gas emitter in Chicago, after the Crawford power plant. Photo credit: Flickr User- swanksalot.

Communities in the United States have a useful new data resource to help them with climate and sustainability planning. The U.S. EPA requires facilities emitting over 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually to report emissions, and it has just released 2010 reported data to the public.

The maps and charts at http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgdata/index.html can help a community identify large sources of emissions in their area. This is especially important in small communities, where a large emitter, such as a power plant or landfill that supplies the region, might make up the majority of the community’s greenhouse gas footprint.

Public access to these data is important for all stakeholders working to improve the sustainability of their communities. CNT plans to make use of these new data in its work supporting sustainable economic development in communities and supports the further public release of place-based data like this by government agencies.

Workshop participants discuss how families can save money by reducing their carbon footprint.

Last week, 11 community leaders who provide financial education and homeowner counseling spent two days in a “train-the-trainer” workshop learning how to incorporate CNT’s Equity Express Green Financial Education into their programs.

Once clients have defined their financial goals and begun to keep track of their expenses, the next step is to determine how they can save money on their limited income. One option is to make smarter consumer choices.

Equity Express is a six-session curriculum that focuses on ways people can save money in the areas of energy, transportation, telecom, and food, which together represent 40 percent of a typical family budget. By making smarter consumer choices, former Equity Express workshop participants have decreased monthly expenses from $20 to $200 per month.

Despite the popular belief that living green is only possible for upper-income households, CNT has consistently found in its research and programs that sustainable practices significantly decrease household expenditures on utility bills, telecommunications services, and transportation costs, to name a few. The money that households save from these practices can enable them to put money toward goals like homeownership and higher education, while simultaneously reducing their  environmental impact.

“Train-the-trainer” workshop participants included staff from Chicago Community Land Trust, Centers for New Horizons, Aunt Martha’s, Trinity United Church of Christ, Bethel New Life Church, and the YWCA. All the participating agencies committed to implementing the Equity Express curriculum in the next six months.

Moving forward, the participants will become part of the Equity Express Chicago Learning Network, a group of organizations that use Equity Express and  support each other as they implement the curriculum.

CNT will hold another training on November 17 and 18. To participate, contact Social Ventures Associate Adam Mays at (773) 269-4019 or amays@cnt.org.

Livability Solutions is now accepting applications for free technical assistance.

Applications are now being accepted from local, regional, state, and tribal governments and community-based organizations for free technical assistance in implementing smart growth initiatives. Up to 12 recipients will receive a two-day workshop with members of Livability Solutions, a partnership among CNT and 10 other organizations, who have expertise in planning projects that protect the environment, improve public health, facilitate job creation and economic opportunity, and improve overall quality of life. The application deadline is November 22, 2011, and grantees will be announced on December 22, 2011.

Please visit Livability Solutions for the complete details.

The Project for Public Spaces, based in New York City, is leading the technical assistance group. Other partners include: Reconnecting America, The Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, National Center for Biking & Walking, the Local Government Commission, The National Charrette Institute, The Congress of New Urbanism, Paul Dreher of the Newport City Renaissance Corporation, Leigh Lane of the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) at NC State University, and the Surface Transportation Policy Project.

Oberlin's enthusiasm for alternative transportation and environmental stewardship have made it a laboratory for big ideas throughout its history. Photo courtesy of Oberlin College Archives

Can a town completely eliminate its greenhouse gases produced by transportation by 2050?  It’s a bold goal and one that CNT is presenting a roadmap for today at the “Northern Ohio’s Clean Energy Future” conference in Oberlin, Ohio. As part of a three person panel on “Community Wide Energy Transformation,” we will recommend actions big and small to bring the town of Oberlin to that zero carbon goal—from a new bike lane to the grocery store to a regional transit system that makes it possible to live in Oberlin without a car. Hosted at Oberlin College, the event will be attended by US Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Oberlin Distinguished Professor David Orr, and other political and policy leaders across Ohio and the nation.

We generated these big ideas as part of our Energy Efficient Transportation Plan for Northern Ohio that was completed in August. We created a roadmap for Oberlin to achieve a 25 percent reduction in emissions below 2007 by 2015, 75 percent reduction by 2030, and zero emissions by 2050. Transforming Oberlin into a zero carbon transportation community will not happen overnight. It will require thousands of individual decisions by individual actors—decisions to walk to the store instead of driving, to buy an electric car to replace an old gasoline model, to share rides or cars with neighbors, to combine trips to the store and travel less. It will also require significant community leadership to develop the infrastructure and policies necessary to enable households and business to build Oberlin’s economy without relying on fossil fuels. The report recommends 10 policy strategies to work towards those goals.

I-GO is more than a convenient, cost-effective, and fun service for people to use. It is also a transformational idea. Car sharing is a key component in retooling our transportation system into one that de-emphasizes auto ownership and instead uses resources efficiently, saves residents money, and decreases the region’s environmental footprint. I-GO sees itself as an extension of the public transit system, helping people cover the last few miles to their destination.

To join I-GO, visit igocars.org. To stay on top of I-GO’s exciting upcoming projects, like its solar-charged electric vehicles and peer-to-peer car sharing pilot, follow I-GO on Facebook and Twitter and sign-up for the I-GO newsletter.