Location efficiency News
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Chicago is northeastern Illinois’ historic center of commerce and employment, yet over the last half century, economic activity has continuously dispersed to outlying suburbs. For the most part nationally, the attention to neighborhood development around transit has focused on mixed-use development with residences, street-level retail and, occasionally, office space.
This paradigm ignores the fact that much vacant land within station areas is strictly zoned for manufacturing or commercial purposes that could attract businesses offering living wages. Next Stop: New Jobs, a new analysis by CNT, addresses these disparities by identifying opportunities to create transit-friendly employment in Chicago. Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Transportation and Community Development | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
This map shows that cities produces less GHG's, per capita, than areas that require more Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).
CNT, through our partnership with the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD), has released, “Transit-Oriented Development and the Potential for VMT-related Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction.” This report provides a quantitative analysis of potential greenhouse gas reductions of transit-oriented development from the transport sector.
The research, led by CNT, finds that by living in a central city near transit, the average household can reduce its transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent. The number increases when living near the most location efficient transit zones, which can result in a 78 percent emission reduction.
“This research shows that, in a nutshell, location does indeed matter,” said Scott Bernstein, President of CNT. “Individuals and families that live near transit centers own fewer automobiles, drive fewer miles, and leave a much smaller carbon footprint than those who don’t.” Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Transit-Oriented Development, Transportation and Community Development | No Comments »
Friday, June 4th, 2010
Location Efficiency Trumps Sprawl, HUD’s Job is Housing AND Urban Development
At the recent 18th Congress for New Urbanism, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan made a tremendous declaration: “For the first time in the history of federal grant competitions, I want to announce today that HUD will be using location efficiency to score our grant applications”.
The energy in the room was tangible. “We’re breaking down silos”, Donovan asserted, and indeed, this commitment from HUD to weight grant applications with spatial context in mind will advance the comprehensive approach to community development that CNU, CNT and other smart growth advocates have urged for years.
Over the past year, HUD has taken on an impressive task of touring cities, meeting and listening—“from mayors and other officials of both small and large communities, to business leaders in growing regions, to governors of states that have been hit hard economically”—to design and tailor a program that reflects what communities want, with the ability to apply context-sensitive solutions that work for each community. And CNT believes that the outcome and the subsequent announcement by Donovan show a real commitment to developing tools and resources that will help regions become strong economic engines—with healthy communities and reduced household expenses. Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Policy, Transportation and Community Development | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
CNT promotes location efficient neighborhoods which have walkable streets, access to transit, mixed land uses, and concentration of retail and services. These neighborhoods require less time, money, and greenhouse gas emissions for residents to meet their everyday travel requirements. Walk Score was launched in 2007 to help people find walkable places to live. Walk Score is a web tool that calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, and now public transit.
CNT is working with the makers of Walk Score, Front Seat, on a project that was recently funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. The Foundation awarded a grant to Front Seat to add public transit, transportation cost, and greenhouse gas emission data to Walk Score. CNT will provide Front Seat with the estimated transportation costs of a location as well as the household greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Transportation and Community Development | No Comments »
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Last Friday, H.R. 2454 – the American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES), also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill – successfully passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 219 to 212. This Thursday, a Senate counterpart to the plan was officially unveiled by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
The bill calls for an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, along with programs to encourage renewable energy production. This landmark legislation is the first to focus on comprehensive and direct solutions to climate change. The bill successfully targets climate change by focusing on short-term solutions like provisions for creating energy-efficient buildings—solutions that can reduce energy usage and save Americans money.
Read more »
Posted in Climate, Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Policy | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
On Monday, June 22, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, introduced a bill that would reauthorize federal surface transportation funding to the tune of $450 billion and reform how the federal government invests in transportation infrastructure. Illinois transportation advocates commend Rep. Oberstar for his leadership on renewing federal surface transportation funding, which expires within a matter of weeks. They are working actively in coalition with Transportation for America (T4America) to help shape the bill so that it goes even further to ensure federal transportation investments help the U.S. and Illinois meet broader economic, energy, climate and health goals.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Policy, Transportation and Community Development | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
At first glance, cities may appear to be a big source of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. But new research by CNT, which compares greenhouse gas emissions of city and suburban households, yields some surprising results.
CNT looked at emissions of carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, stemming from household vehicle travel in 55 metropolitan areas across the U.S. When measured on a per household basis, it found that the transportation-related emissions of people living in cities and compact neighborhoods can be nearly 70% less than those living in suburbs. See how this compares in your region at our newly redesigned Housing + Transportation Affordability Index site.
Read the full Press Release or try out the new site.
Posted in Climate, Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency | No 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, Location efficiency | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
Record-high gasoline prices are inspiring more Americans to celebrate Independence Day close to home. But those who live where they can walk, bike or take public transit to their local fireworks displays and other amenities are benefiting from another sort of independence – from gasoline.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Transportation and Community Development | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Without sufficient alternatives to driving, American families spent their entire economic stimulus check on high-priced gas. According to new analysis from U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), since President Bush signed the tax rebates into law on February 13th, the average household spent over $1500 filling their tanks. Gas costs were higher than average in areas without robust public transportation.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Transportation and Community Development | No Comments »
